Ridgefield was a hotbed for potatoes and prunes in the early 1900s, and the town decided on the former for its school mascot. Despite an upswing in cases of COVID-19, some area school officials say they have no plans to go remote. Well, celebrated might not be the perfect word. Illinois. McLaughlin High School in McLaughlin, South Dakota, is the home of the Midgets, despite the fact that the mascot looks more like a gray, dick-nosed gremlin. Citizen, speak Turkish! Poca High School Poca Dots. Grand Ridge,Metcalf,Minonk,Minonk-Dana-Rutland,Oneida,Toulon Academy, Henry(1899 19? I WONDER WHERE HE GETS HIS INSPIRATION. Arlington Hts Forest View,Berwyn Morton West,Findlay,Flanagan, Bloomington St. Mary,Bloomington Trinity,Cairo St. Joseph,Peoria Spalding,Xenia. McLaughlin High School. It was later discovered that the coat of arms depicted a lion instead, but the mascot stuck, according to Keller Williams Realty in New Braunfels. The womens game is boring, according to most people who have never bothered to attend. They were originally known as the Fighting Gamecocks with their female teams known as the Lady Gamecocks which is a joke in itself. ", The school has even allowed the students to name their home basketball cheering section the "OrFANage.". Illinois: 372.855: New Jersey: 384.133: Colorado: 389.613: Indiana: 391.875: Arkansas: 403.519: Kentucky: 409.686: Maryland: . >> Check out: Every Dinosaur in The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World Movies, L: Poca High/Wikipedia; R: Twitter, Poca High Track & Field. The town is home to the National Historic Cheese Making Center. You can cancel at any time. Tigers. They used to be the Apostles, but in 1939 the school held a vote and Marcos won with the official mascot depicting the explorer. Last week, we declared that the Laurel Hill Hoboes had the best high school nickname/mascot/logo combination. The Lady Wildcats cranked up the defensive pressure and pulled away late for a 49-37 win over Williamson County rival Herrin on Senior Night. Their varsity football team's 2013 season record seems to indicate a . Grape Pickers North East High School (North East, Pennsylvania) Optional Caption. Teams had contracts with local over-the-air stations. Should Schools Bring Back The Threat of The Paddle? The company must have sold something made by a "Viking company -- I think it may have been carpet. However, locals use obezags, and now, sportswriters do, too. Worst College Mascots of All Time. The nickname was originally the Purple Warriors but somehow morphed into the Purple Pounders, which undoubtedly makes the teenage student body chuckle. 1 - 13383+. Argonauts are found in Greek mythology they're a band of heroes who traveled in a ship c, Hoopeston prides itself on being the original "Sweetcorn Capital of the World." Schnake notes, 'Some thought the players looked as sad as a band of unwanted orphans. Yuba City, California - Honkers. Much worse. A bird that devours men can be pretty intimidating as a mascot. The Best (and Worst) High School Mascots in Missouri By Lindsay Toler on Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 8:00 am . Effingham Flaming Hearts Mascot. Campbell Hill,Joliet Catholic,Sparland, Chgo Harrison,Cowden,East Lynn,Granville Hopkins,Green Valley,Kane,Kenny,Kinmundy,Kinmundy-Alma,Longview,Robbs,Hull,Huntsville High School. Mitchell Kernels (Mitchell, South Dakota); 14. Duration: 1928-present. Members of the Orofino Joint School District Hudl. The shells are sold as souvenirs, pictured. A group representing people with dwarfism and some community members are again asking a Southern Illinois high school to drop a 'Midgets' nick. Freeburg says it's not changing the mascot, despite r. Most Illinoisans have heard the legend of the Piasa Bird. Rantoul Donovan,Rardin,Reno,Ringwood,River Forest,Roanoke,Rockford Muldoon,Rockford St. James,Rock Island St. Joseph,Rock Island Villa de Chantal,Rosamond,Roscoe,Rose Hill,Rossville. Erie. If I were choosing teams from the St. Louis Cardinals roster, who would be my first pick? Oakdale,Oakford,Oconee,Ohio St. Joseph,Ohlman,Omaha,Onarga Grand Prairie Seminary,Opdyke,Orland,OttawaSt. Columba,Ottawa St. Xavier. Hoopestown Cornjerkers (hoopeston.k12.il.us Photo), Annoyed Scammer Gets Pranked By Illinois Man, Calls Him Stupid, Parties and Barbecues Would Be Lame Without This Illinois Invention, Illinois Adults Struggle to Answer These Five 8th Grade American History Questions, Illinois Residents Were Freaking Out Over UFO, Didnt Know It Was 2 Planets, National TV Show Needs Illinois Extras For 5 Different Shoots Next Week, New Study Says Illinois Is One The Best States For Opportunity, Illinois Nearly Tops List For Most STDs In The United States. Self care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life. Wushock, the Wheat Stalk - Wichita State. East St.Louis St. Teresa,Eddyville,Edgewood,El Dara,Elgin St. Mary,Elizabethtown,Elmira,Elsah,Evanston Academy,Evanston Marywood. Mike is the legendary live Bengal Tiger serving as the graphic image of all LSU Athletics teams. When it comes to finding out more about clubs and groups at Du Quoin High School, a trio of students say, Theres an app for that., MARION Carterville withstood two second half runs by Marion to hold on and beat the Lady Wildcats, 60-47, in a non-conference girls basketba. The Stanford Tree - Stanford University. The school's students were dubbed "Beetdiggers" because most of them spent time helping to harvest the sugar beets. The story of Les Taylor may be one of the more fascinating ones retold in Southern Illinois. So, when you put that jersey on, it means something.. The 1970 team was named to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame after winning the state title. Clemens for a soak any more, you can still head there to see the Battling Bathers do their thing in the gym or on the field. Bardolph,Buckner,Bureau Township,Calhoun,Camden,CarrierMills,Chestnut,Chgo Luther Inst.,Chgo NW Div/Tuley,Cisco,Colusa,Cypress,Fillmore,Flat Rock, Franklin Grove,Glenwood,Hammond,Hume,Lyndon,Minier,New Holland,New Holland-Middleton,Noble, Raritan,Springerton,Stewardson Community High School TigersStonington,Toluca,Wapella,West Union,Wing,Winslow, Catlin,Chgo Westcott,Waterman,Wheaton-Warrenville. At the end of the day, these are kids and this is a school community. 1 - 13383+. 5400 people. Marquette wrote the Piasa "was as large as a calf with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face like a man, the body covered with green, red and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head and between the legs.". We just can't even imagine why a school would use the nickname of a kid who lost both her parents? Hickman Kewpies (Columbia, Missouri); 10. Illinois ranks as the 5th state in terms of student enrollment and 5th in terms of total number of schools. Or heck, imagine being a student at this school who was once harassed by law enforcement. Crescent City,Crescent-Iroquois,Metcalf Young America. Nason,Nauvoo Sts. The Cobden Appleknockers adopted their nickname to honor the laborers who used sticks to knock apples out of trees during harvest. The womens game is boring, according to most people who have never bothered to attend. Lockport Porters (Lockport, Illinois), 21.Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers (Hoopeston, Illinois); 22. # Knights 18. Maniacs isn't a politically correct term anymore especially when the mascot is clearly based on an actual insane person and not some kind of wild creature. SIU announced on Tuesday that it has rescheduled three men's basketball home games for later this month. Half breeds was not and is not an appropriate school mascot, period. Ed Zurga / Stringer. According to legend, the name "Orphan" has three different origin stories. Let's talk about the important news that hit baseball this week: The Chicago Cubs unveiled their first official mascot in . Both were Fighting Artichokes, which seems like an oxymoron considering an artichoke is a benign plant. Blue Mound-Boody,Cairo Camelot,Chgo St. Mel,Northlake West Leyden. To give you an idea of how tough it was to crack our lists of the best, weirdest, wackiest, most clever nicknames in high school sports, neither of those squads made the cut. It's National Mascot Day! Here are 13 of the scariest school mascots and nicknames in the country. Please subscribe to keep reading. That is the name's origin story. Centralia High in south-central Illinois is one of the few that does, as it calls its boys teams Orphans and its girls teams Annies. Sign up for our daily email to stay up to date with Illinois politics. 7. We invited readers to try to top these . Illinois. According to the school's website, a "zizzer" is an "expert in any activity." Why have a mascot that makes light of a country's three century long slave past? Supposedly, the name became official when the boys basketball coach yelled at his team for their lack of hustle and called them a bunch of hoboes. CHRISTOPHER Junior guard Jessica Gordon knocked down four shots from beyond the arc and sophomore forward Amiah Hargrove tallied 14 of her t, MURPHYSBORO AJ Walkers basket with 2.4 seconds left gave Murphysboro a 26-24 win over Herrin in a boys basketball battle between the top tw, From shifts in masking requirements at Southern Illinois schools to arrests made from a prostitution sting, here are the most popular stories . The Illinois Fighting Illini (/ l a n a /) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports.. Here are the top 20 most challenging Illinois high schools, nearly all of which are among the top 3 percent nationally. Update: Here's their scoreboard, courtesy of Nanook of the South 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Teutopolis/Westmont St. Joseph Minor Seminary. Today. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). And finally, the Centralia High School Orphans (boys teams) & Annies (girls teams), submitted by Kathleen & Tom. Key School administrators havent fully adopted the team name and say there is no official school mascot. The heart portion of Flaming Hearts is easy enough to understand. Bottom line: For the first 40 years of Cornells existence, it didnt have a nickname. Chgo Acad. It is a play upon the Alma Mater statue which is located near the heart of the campus and which is a creatio. Really wishing they had gone with the Wieners. This Mississippi River town pays homage to the steam boats that lined the river in the Mississippi's glory days. The name Spudder has been the symbol of the school ever since. Since the first two cave men decided to have a contest over who could throw a rock the farthest, winners have been gloating. The school went through four real-life bears as the mascot before transitioning to a costumed bear and we're all grateful for that. High school athletes participate in fall, winter and spring sports such as football, basketball, volleyball and cross-country, proudly wearing their their school colors and mascots. From the Washington Post on its methodology: The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. Credit: Associated Press. Today, of course, Ls are known as losses, as in they took the L. Fort Lauderdale High School is well aware of that fact but is still sticking to its name despite what has to be numerous taunts from opponents. Palmer,Patterson,Payson,Penfield St. Lawrence,Peoria Academy of Our Lady,Peoria Kingman,Peru Academy of St. Joseph,Philo,Philo St. Joseph,Piopolis Catholic,Pittsburg,Plainville,Plattville,Poplar Grove, . With a kind face and even kinder hand gestures, it' s safe to say that the University of Minnesota's mascot is the furthest thing away from being intimidating. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. New Braunfels Unicorns (New Braunfels, Texas); 19. There is really a school in Arkansas called the School for the Deaf Leopards, and they adopted their name over 30 years before the rock band Def Leppard even formed! I presume that Pekin Illinois HS has dropped its long-standing team nickname, The Chinks. I think "The Webb Toes" would have been a better choice though. A Tyrannosaurus rex is their game mascot. He has kind eyes. In fact, The Flying Ls have won over 60 state championships. There's also the Putnam County Midgets in Unionville, Mo., which some say was so named because it was a small rural team. It is always good to know that it could have been worse. Using the top 70 schools in terms of NCAA Tournament appearances - excluding Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and UNLV, since they don't have official mascots - the survey netted the following . This is not welcoming behavior. Bottom line: The original team nickname was The Fort Lauderdale L, but during a track meet in 1917, a reporter saw a student-athlete running to victory and remarked, Look at that L fly!. St. Anne Academy,St. Charles Mt. Atkinson,Barry,Belle Rive,Chgo Cregier,Colfax,Crossville,Danforth,East St. Louis Lincoln,Hardin,Humboldt,Joliet West,Kingston,LongPoint,Manito,Medora,Melvin,Mound City,New Columbia,Olney,Penfield,Stewardson,Sailor Springs,Tennessee,Thebes,Tower Hill,Trenton,Trivoli High School,Vergennes,Westchester Immaculate Heart of Mary,Wheaton Central. Lunch: 40.9%Challenge Index: 3.116, National rank: 558E&E: 94.0%Subs. Best St. Louis Area High School Mascot: Roosevelt High School Rough Riders. Many school teams, especially those at lower levels whether it be high school or smaller colleges, sometimes like to think outside the box when coming up with their team names and mascots. (17) updates to this series since Updated The mascot honors the art of cheese making in the area around Monroe. Mar 29, 2014 - High school mascots that are purely inappropriate and ridiculous. Bottom line: Perhaps no nickname has inspired more jokes and funny fan signs than the South Carolina Gamecocks. That's no excuse for keeping this miserable reminder of the heartache associated with our criminal justice system as a keepsake for a school community. There are a million hawks and bears and all of those things out there, said Braswell. When I first moved away from the Chicago suburbs out to the boonies in the early 1980's, I discovered that things were way different when it comes to naming high school mascots. Freeburg Community High School Midgets. A non-partisan organization dedicated to involving Illinois residents in the state's political process. Residents of Coal City cheer on what else? As debate rages nationally around the name of the Washington Redskins' football team, American Indian names remain popular among Iowa high school teams, and some . Random Things. The Witches of Brewer High School are made up of players from nearly 10 towns in southeastern Maine. The state track meet in particular. Assumption,Chandlerville,Cherry,Chgo Cooley,Chgo West Div/McKinley,Compton,Coleta,El Paso,Kirkland,Middletown,Sterling St. Mary,Kings. Lunch: 46.0%Challenge Index: 3.223, National rank: 520E&E: 63.7%Subs. Yes No. I'm not referring to the pose as much as the Polar Bear. He only said "Jeep, Jeep, Jeep." OROFINO Orofino High School will keep its ''Maniac'' mascot but try harder to educate the public about its meaning. Coach Zach Villarrubia (left) and the St. Stanislaus Rock-A-Chaws won the 2022 MHSAA Class 1 boys soccer state championship. The 2020-21 spring sports season finally drew to a close Friday when the Marion Wildcats softball team fell 4-3 in nine innings to Highland in. Schools; Cities; School Districts; . Little did they know that the crest . Carbondale's Les Taylor was a force on the court, SIU Softball | Salukis roll to win over Valparaiso, SIU Golf | Matthis Besard continues to have success for the Salukis, Prep Football | Pinckneyville hires Lott as new coach, Prep Sports Notebook | Spring season concludes, new coaches hired, Sports Column | John Homan: Sports memories are sometimes the best memories, Prep Sports | Belleville Althoff will be leaving the South Seven in 2023, Boys Golf | Althoff cruises to South Seven Golf Preview win, Girls Golf | Season Preview: Massac County expected to be one of the top local teams, Prep Football | Marion set for big season as practice opens across the region. However, they discontinued the former to eliminate any connection to cockfighting and got rid of the latter to separate itself from any gender bias. VIENNA The loud scream that could be heard in the gym coming from the visitors locker room after the game indicated that the Massac County g, Hornettes pulled out a 40-30 win over Du Quoin to remain undefeated in the River-to-River Mississippi Division in a girls basketball game on T, PINCKNEYVILLE The Pinckneyville Panthers took control in the second quarter and held on to beat Carterville, 60-50, to knock the Lady Lions . 2. Pictured is the prison, which is now a state park. Los Olivos, California: Dunn HS - Earwigs. 11. Sarah Harness fired 5 2/3 scoreless innings and whiffed nine as the Salukis blanked non-conference foe Saint Louis 5-0 at Charlotte West Stadium. Bottom line: The Banana Slug is either one of the greatest or one of the worst nicknames in sports, depending on your perspective. Armington-Hittle,Bethany (Boys),Cicero Morton East,Gorham,Malta,Milton,Paxton,Wenona. As a result, the team was required to pick game-day uniforms from a bin of leftover uniforms from previous seasons, apparently making the team look like a group of "orphans. How much did Illinois colleges make in 2014? Many of the 31 high schools known as the Warriors use logos such as a headdress, and 23 schools go by the Indians. Thoughts: Wow. Lunch: 41.0%Challenge Index: 3.086, National rank: 567E&E: 48.4%Subs. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students. . Argenarta,Easton,Gladstone,Hettick,Hinckley,Mt. This statue on the waterfront commemorates the local sponge divers. Watch. Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images. Thus, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers paid a visit, met some of the students and posed for pictures. Chgo DePaul Acad,Dana,Downs,Leaf River. The real question -why do folks feel the need to hang on to these offensive relics? My high school mascot was the Hickman Kewpie and there's not a photo of it online that isn't nightmarishly hilarious. So, how do you translate eutectic into a mascot costume? The name dates back to the 1933-34 basketball season, when the team members started wearing a rabbit's foot for good luck. Geff,Genoa,German Valley Pleasant Prairie,Glen Ellyn,Godfrey,Golden Gate,Good Hope,Grafton,Grantsburg,Greenbush,Greenwood. Maryland: Allegany High School (Cumberland): The Campers. Students pushed back and voted to make the Banana Slug the team name, to which the chancellor rejected and said the athletes should be the ones who decide the nickname. Some high schools choose mascots that honor their local heritage, others have nicknames that just stuck. Educators owe a duty to the students and their families to set an example. According to the school's alumni association, sugar beet farming was a major industry in the valley when Jordan High School was founded. Brocton-Redmon,Cambria, Gladstone-Oquawka,Keithsburg,Manchester,Percy,Plymouth,Elvaston. Mike Swanson. 22 . While tourists don't really visit Mt. Apaches, Blackhawks, Braves,Comanches, Indians, Komanches, Mohawks, Red Hoarde, Redskins, Warriors. 10 unique Illinois high school mascots. Selling my baseball cards for beer money when I was in college is one of my great regrets. When I think of disgusting, gross things, horned frogs definitely spring to mind. The school shares a border fence with the Idaho State Hospital North (mental institution). When Ryan OReilly knocked the puck into the net with about 90 seconds left in the game my first thought was, If anyone deserves to see her child succeed today, its Bonnie OReilly.. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! 23. I recently took my 5-year-old grandson to T-ball practice. Posted Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 4:20 pm CT. CARBONDALE Belleville Althoff is leaving the South Seven Conference. Sterling St. Mary,Pearl,Ridgway,Rollo,Saunemin,Scottland,Shannon,Smithboro,Tamms,Westfield,Wyanet,Yates City. The conch is a popular item in restaurants, fried or made into chowder. Peter & Paul,New Milford,New Salem,Niles St. Hedwig,Nilwood,Nora. Eugene the Jeep was a character with magical or supernatural abilities in the "Popeye" comic strip in the 1930s. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Oh, and by the way, a horned frog is a type of lizard, not an actual frog. But since we have to play favorites, here are the two logos we'd love to see on a hat or t-shirt or license plate cover: The Rocky Ford Meloneers (Rocky Ford, Colorado), submitted by johnlaf. Reporting on what you care about. Goldbugs. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Joe,Joliet St. Mary,Jonesboro. PINCKNEYVILLE It's never easy winning football games in Pinckneyville - not in a town so devoted to high school basketball. They went with potatoes. Yes No. The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans / First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team is a topic of public controversy in the United States and . Cliff Mason II #5 Coachella Valley (California) High School "Mighty Arabs" View fullsize. Back in the day, calling someone a "nimrod" wouldn't get you punched in the face; it was a nickname given to a "king hunter" a person with the ability to track large prey and slay it singlehandedly. Here are the top 20 most challenging Illinois high schools, nearly all of which are among the top 3 percent nationally. # Eagles 33 (There are 2 Golden Eagles, 1 Eagle Owls, 1 Mighty Eagles and 1 Screaming Eagles) # Wildcats 32. Kaneville,Kaskaskia,Kell,Keyesport,Kinsman,Kishwaukee,Knoxville St. Albans,Knoxville St. Mary/St. The town of Effingham, Illinois really took this title seriously, though. The concept has spawned a new word sportswashing. But when the "Amazing Appleknockers of '64" made it to the state basketball championships, the name stuck and is now a thing of pride. When students return to Carbondale Middle School next month, they will be greeted by a new administrative team promising a new attitude and new results. After the SIU women toppled Valparaiso 62-52 on Friday, forward Gabby Walker was asked if she had any New Years resolutions. Go to https://buyraycon.com/fivepoints for 15% off your order! METROPOLIS Most coaches point to the south these days when asked who has the best girls golf program in Southern Illinois. Originally, the school's mascot was the "Arabs" with a mascot appearing at sporting events playing on stereotypical tropes, including:a thick beard, mustache, hooked nose, and head wrap. Here are a couple more wimpy sports names from high schools in my area . But theres only one Chattanooga Central Purple Pounder. STEM Ranked Schools Only. Nope, this is neither a geode or a duck. Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew. The mayor said Key West would secede from the Union. Whatever you say. Bottom line: Schools like Louisiana State University which has the Tigers and the Lady Tigers as well as Tennessees Volunteers and Lady Vols choose to distinguish their mens and womens teams. So it seems reasonable that their high school mascot would hon. So, where do we draw the line? Athletes at a southern Illinois high school will keep the nickname Freeburg Midgets, despite the objections of a group representing people with dwarfism, who find the name offensive.. About 500 . Lincoln Community High School Railsplitters, Illinois Valley Central High School Grey Ghosts, Argo Community High School Fighting Argonauts, Carbondale Community High School Terriers, University Laboratory High School Gargoyles. The story behind the Alva Goldbugs mascot is painted on the wall of the Alva High School gym, as shown in this May 25 photo. The Fighting Illini did have a mascot named Chief Illiniwek until 2007, when the movement against derogatory Native American mascots hit a fever pitch and made most college versions go away. Its often been said that before an athlete or a team can truly learn to win, they must first know what its like to lose. What this legend probably leaves out is that it was a cursed doll and the secretary was a witch. ^ This guy wrote horror films like You're Next and The Guest. 10. A state representative has proposed a new law that would require Illinois high schools and junior highs to receive permission from Native American tribes if they want to continue . Like Edward Scissorhands, but with beaters as feet and a thousand times more horrifying. Greenville,Lockport Lewis,Springfield Feitshans,Tallula. Part of HuffPost News. The school has faced public pressure to drop the nickname. Go Cocks and Cocks Rock are just some of the sayings you can hear when walking through campus in South Carolina. Sure you got the usual names, like the Tigers, the Eagles and Wildcats, however some rather unusual Illinois high school mascot names. After years of pushing back, members at the school finally gave in and chose obezags as their unofficial mascot. Astoria Fighting Fishermen (Astoria, Oregon); 13. At Southwestern, in Piasa, Illinois, it's their home team. Elwood has been rallying crowds and creating school spirit here at Longwood since 2011. Not everyone wants lions and tigers and bears as their school mascot. New Berlin Pretzels (New Berlin, Illinois); 25. Illinois' college completion rate is higher than the U.S. average-in almost every category, Top 10 Illinois colleges whose graduates have the highest earning potential. Check out Reboot Illinois to see the top 10 most challenging high schools in Illinois. Search. 7) Cardunals. Margaret. 4T) Artesians. "Picker Pride" really? A new report was released ranking the nation's most challenging high schools, and 72 schools in Illinois made the cut. Freeport is known as "Pretzel City, USA" due to the convoluted manner in which the streets were laid out in its early history. Apparently, in the 1940s, a Chicago sportswriter noted that the boys' basketball team looked so shabby in their tattered uniforms that they looked like orphans. Chgo Near North,Mason City,Sciota Northwestern. According to the Herald Review, a city resident referred to Effingham as the "Heart of America" in a campaign to attract visitors to the city, though no one is quite sure where the "flaming" came from. The city of Fort Lauderdale then held a vote and decided to change the nickname to The Flying Ls, and its stuck ever since. There are a couple of stories about where this, uh, interesting nickname came from, but it officially stuck around 1940, when something totally normal and not-at-all-disturbing happened: A student covered himself and his horse in bedsheets and galloped onto the football field to deliver the game ball. The best example of this comes in the form of the weirdest high school mascot, the Flaming Hearts. This is no excuse! MASCOTS AND NICKNAMES This page was created to honor the mascots and nicknames of the closed high schools in Illinois. There are 1,292 high schools in Illinois, made up of 1,018 public schools and 274 private schools. One of the most prominent springs in the area is called the "Bubble," thus inspiring the mascot. Honorable mention goes to the Arkansas School for the Deaf Leopards, which is undeniably brilliantI just couldn't find a good picture of the logo. The Washington Post ranked more than 2,300 high schools based on a formula it calls the "Challenge Index" ratio, which is calculated by taking the total number of advanced placement, international baccalaureate and advanced international certificate of education tests administered at a school in 2014 and dividing by the number of seniors who graduated that same year. Carpet Viking HS Mascot - A Spartan "Spartan" in front of Southeast high school, originally at a prominent home building company.