Two years after Wichita Falls High School closed and the old Coyotes faded into history, some Legacy students want a yearly Coyote Day, setting off the gentlest mascot crisis in the history of Texas high school sports
The Ghost Of The Coyote
WICHITA FALLS. A group of Legacy High School students has launched a petition calling for an annual Coyote Day, on which the school would honour the Coyotes, the mascot of the old Wichita Falls High School, which closed when Legacy and Memorial opened in fall 2024. The idea has drawn hundreds of signatures, several passionate speeches in the cafeteria and at least one formal response from a student dressed as a leopard, who said the Leopards were not threatened, not even slightly, and would appreciate it if everyone stopped asking.
The mascot debate is not new. Before the new schools opened, Wichita Falls residents spoke at school board meetings about the future of the city’s high school mascots, and local media reported on one last plea to save the Coyotes. In the end, the new schools adopted new identities: the Legacy Leopards and the Memorial Mavericks. But for many families with deep ties to the old schools, the Coyote never quite left.
The Petition
The petition, organised by a group of sophomores whose parents and grandparents attended Wichita Falls High School, proposes that one day each year be set aside for Coyote pride. Students would be allowed to wear old Coyotes shirts, the band would play the old fight song and the cafeteria would serve something the organisers describe as Coyote nachos, the recipe for which has not been specified. A sophomore who started the petition said it was about family history. My grandmother was a Coyote, she said. My mom was a Coyote. I am a Leopard, and I love being a Leopard. But I want one day a year where my grandmother can come to school and feel like it is still a little bit hers.
The Leopard Responds
The student who performs as the Legacy leopard at games and events issued a statement through the student newspaper. The Leopard is not threatened by the Coyote, the statement read. The Leopard is the fastest land animal in the school. The Leopard has spots. The Coyote does not have spots. The Leopard welcomes the Coyote as a guest, for one day only, on the condition that the Coyote does not sit in the Leopard’s seat at the pep rally. The Leopard is aware that, technically, the cheetah is the fastest land animal. The Leopard does not wish to discuss this.
Faculty Views
Teachers who taught at the old schools have watched the petition with affection. A history teacher who spent many years at Wichita Falls High School said the debate was a lesson in how communities hold on to identity. Mascots are not just animals on a jersey, she said. They are memories. They are Friday nights, homecoming dances, rivalries and families. When a school closes, people grieve a little, even when the new building is wonderful. A Coyote Day would be a way of honouring the past while living in the present. Also, it would give me an excuse to wear my old sweatshirt, which still fits, mostly.
What About Rider And Hirschi?
The petition has prompted questions from students with connections to the other closed schools, Rider and Hirschi. If Legacy has a Coyote Day, a junior asked in the cafeteria, why not a day for the other old mascots too? The question opened a philosophical debate about whether the school calendar could accommodate a full week of historic mascot appreciation. One student proposed a Heritage Week, with a different old mascot honoured each day. Another pointed out that Memorial might also want to participate, which led to a further debate about whether the Mavericks should be allowed to join a Legacy event or whether this would be a betrayal of everything the rivalry stands for.
The Cafeteria Speeches
The debate reached its peak during a Thursday lunch period, when a senior stood on a chair, with the cafeteria monitor’s reluctant permission, and delivered an impassioned speech. We are Leopards, she declared. But we are also the children and grandchildren of Coyotes. We carry their history in our hearts. And in our closets, because my mom kept every single shirt. Let us honour the past. Let us eat the Coyote nachos, whatever they are. She was greeted with applause, and then asked to get down off the chair, which she did, gracefully, like a Leopard.
The Administration
An administrator, asked about the petition, said the school appreciated students’ respect for the community’s history and would consider proposals presented through the appropriate channels. She added that any Coyote Day would need to fit around testing, athletics and the band schedule, and that the cafeteria would need a much clearer description of Coyote nachos before anything was approved. We are open to the idea, she said. We are not open to mystery food.
The Grandparents
For many of the petition’s supporters, the most important audience is older relatives. A grandfather who graduated from Wichita Falls High School decades ago said he had been touched to hear about it. When they closed the old school, I was sad, he said. I understand why. The building was old, and the new schools are beautiful. But it meant something to us. If my grandson wants to wear a Coyote shirt one day a year, I will buy him a new one. And I will come to the pep rally. I will even cheer for the Leopards. Quietly.
A Rivalry Of Kindness
Perhaps the most surprising outcome of the petition is how gentle the whole debate has been. In a state where high school sports are taken extremely seriously, a mascot dispute might be expected to produce fierce arguments. Instead, Legacy students have discussed the Coyote with warmth, humour and respect, and the Leopard has handled the situation with dignity, apart from the cheetah comment. A counsellor said the episode showed students at their best. They are thinking about family, history and community, she said. They are disagreeing politely. Frankly, adults could learn something.
The Last Word
On Friday afternoon, after the final bell, the student who performs as the Legacy leopard walked across the empty courtyard in full costume. Near the front doors, a younger student was taping a handmade poster to the wall: a cartoon leopard and a cartoon coyote, side by side, holding paws. The leopard stopped and studied it for a long moment. The younger student looked nervous. Is this okay, she asked. The leopard tilted its enormous furry head, considered the drawing and then gave a slow, solemn thumbs up. Just one day, the leopard said, from somewhere inside the costume. And he does not get my seat.