Vel Phillips Memorial High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. It was established in 1966 and is part of the

Madison Metropolitan School District The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is a public school district headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves the cities of Madison and Fitchburg, the villages of Shorewood Hills and Maple Bluff, and the towns of Blooming Grove a ...

. The school is named after

Vel Phillips Velvalea Hortense Rodgers "Vel" Phillips (February 18, 1924 – April 17, 2018) was an American attorney, politician, jurist, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and as secretary of Sta ...

, an American attorney, politician, jurist, and Civil Rights activist, who served as the first female alderperson and judge in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

and as

Secretary of State of Wisconsin The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and is second (behind the Lieutenant Governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Wiscon ...

(1979-1983). Previously named James Madison Memorial High School after

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

, the school was unanimously renamed by the Madison Metropolitan School District board in 2021 after concern was raised by the public over Madison's ownership of slaves.

Academics

Memorial offers classes ranging from Algebra 1 to Photography. Chinese, German, French and Spanish are some of their language classes. The school also hosts the Madison school district's planetarium and offers an Astronomy class.

Small Learning Communities grant

In 2001, Memorial received a U.S. Department of Education Small Learning Communities federal grant to support a "neighborhood" reorganization. The four neighborhoods are Rock, Wolf, Fox, and Wisconsin .

School newspapers

The official school newspaper is ''The Sword and Shield'' and until 2014 kept all issues online. Independent newspapers, ''The Spartacus'' and ''Aficionado'' existed at one time, but have all ceased distribution. ''The Independent'' was created after the 1990–91 school year by ''The Sword and Shield'' staff.

Extracurricular activities

Memorial offers

interscholastic Francis Michael Durango Magalona (October 4, 1964 – March 6, 2009), also known by the moniker Francis M, was a Filipino rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, actor, and television personality. Born in Manila, He became a significant influ ...

sports and extramural activities. The Spartans have won 64 state championships across all sports, ranking third in the state of Wisconsin.

Athletics

Baseball

*1990 State champion; beat Marinette, 8-7 (9) *1992 State champion; beat Oconomowoc, 10-8

Basketball (boys)

*2005 State champion; beat Milwaukee Vincent, 63-55 *2009 State champion; beat Racine Horlick, 56-41 *2011 State champion; beat De Pere, 80-78 (3OT)

Cross country (boys)

*1967 State champion; beat Antigo, 80-82 *1969 State champion; beat Milwaukee Marshall, 52-109 *1991 State champion; beat Homestead, 65-97

Cross country (girls)

*1980 State champion; beat Neenah, 98-114 *1984 State champion; beat Neenah, 85-99

Football (boys)

*1984 State Runners Up; 10w - 2l Current Winningest Team

Golf (boys)

*1972 State champion; beat Whitefish Bay, 611-618 *1984 State champion; beat Madison West, 647-649 *1990 State champion; beat Eau Claire North, 670-686

Golf (girls)

*1977 State champion; beat Madison West, 710-739 *1979 State champion; beat Appleton East, 710-728 *1980 State champion; beat Appleton West, 729-785

Hockey (boys)

*1976 State champion; beat Superior, 4-3 (3OT) *1977 State champion; beat Superior, 3-2 (2OT) *1979 State champion; beat Madison East, 3-1 *1980 State champion; beat Rice Lake, 6-2 *1985 State champion; beat Stevens Point, 3-1 *1988 State champion; beat Madison West, 2-0 *1998 State champion; beat Stevens Point, 4-3 (OT) *2000 State champion; beat Wausau West, 4-3

Soccer (boys)

*2006 State champion; beat Brookfield East, 2-0

Soccer (Girls)

*1986 State champion; beat Neenah, 1-0 *1987 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 1-0

Swimming and diving (boys)

*1980 State champion; beat Whitefish Bay, 112-90 *1981 State champion; beat Homestead, 148-93 *1986 State champion; beat Madison West, 260-204 *1992 State champion; beat Madison West, 296-208 *1994 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 282-280 *1996 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 266-238 *2005 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 269.5-222 *2006 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 272-245 *2007 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 257.5-212.5 *2009 State champion; beat Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 200.5-182.5 *2011 State champion; beat Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial, 234.5-192 *2012 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 326-234 *2013 State champion; beat Madison West, 316-206 *2014 State champion; beat Madison West, 319–216.5 *2015 State champion; beat Madison West, 350.5-201 *2016 State champion; beat Madison West, 314-202

Swimming and diving (girls)

*1970 State champion; beat Menomonee Falls North, 128–121.5 *1971 State champion; beat Menomonee Falls North, 127.5-116 *1972 State champion; beat Madison East, 174-118 *1974 State champion; beat Madison West, 230-179 *1975 State champion; beat Madison West, 234-168 *1976 State champion; beat Brookfield Central, 215-132 *1978 State champion; beat Madison West, 176-153 *1979 State champion; beat Brookfield Central, 210-114 *1988 State champion; beat Madison West, 277–212.5 *1993 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 325.5-311 *1994 State champion; beat Madison West, 310-5-301.5 *1999 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 313–242.5 *2000 State champion; beat Arrowhead, 320.5-236 *2001 State champion; beat Madison West, 295–267.5

Tennis (girls)

*1988 State champion; beat Brookfield Central, 30.5-28

Track and field (boys)

*1970 State champion; tied Racine Case & Whitefish Bay, 14-14 *1973 State champion; beat Whitefish Bay, 21-18

Track and field (girls)

*1972 State champion; beat Nicolet, 21-18 *1973 State champion; beat Madison West, 24-18 *1977 State champion; tied Madison East, 40-40 *1979 State champion; beat Janesville Parker & Madison West, 46-30 *2003 State champion; beat Waukesha West, Hartford, Cudahy & Waukesha Catholic Memorial, 34-25

Notable alumni

* Christina and Michelle Naughton, class of 2007; pianists *

Tyrone Braxton Tyrone Scott Braxton (born December 17, 1964) is a former American football safety who played for the Denver Broncos for most of his career from 1987 to 1999. Braxton played in four Super Bowls with the Broncos, and won 2 NFL championship rings i ...

, class of 1983; former NFL safety *

Bill Foster (Illinois politician) George William Foster (born October 7, 1955) is an American businessman, physicist, and U.S. representative for , winning the seat in 2012. He was the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Early l ...

, class of 1972; physicist and Illinois Congressman *

Jake Ferguson Jake Ferguson (born January 18, 1999) is an American football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin. High school career Ferguson attended Vel Phillips Memorial High Scho ...

, class of 2017; tight end for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

* Daurice Fountain, class of 2014; wide receiver for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Rick Graf Richard Glenn Graf (born August 29, 1964) is a former professional American football linebacker who played for eight years in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins (1987–1990), the Houston Oilers (1991–1992), and the Washin ...

, class 1982; former NFL football

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Tamara Grigsby Tamara D. Grigsby (November 19, 1974 – March 14, 2016) was an American social worker, academic, and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly by representing the 18th Assembly District from 2005 until 2013. Early life ...

, class of 1993; Wisconsin State Assembly *

Ari Herstand Ari Seth Herstand (born June 1, 1985) is an American musician, songwriter, author, actor, blogger based in Los Angeles, California (previously Minneapolis, Minnesota). He is the CEO and founder of the music business education and artist advocac ...

, class of 2003; singer-songwriter, author, actor, and blogger *

Jack Ikegwuonu Jack Ikegwuonu (born January 7, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. Early years Ikegwuonou was born in Jacks ...

, class of 2004; former NFL cornerback * Mark Johnson, former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player and gold medalist with the US Olympic Men's Hockey team at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

; UW-Madison women's hockey coach *

Jennifer Korbee Jennifer Kristen Korbee (née Peterson-Hind; born May 24, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Biography Korbee was born Jennifer Peterson-Hind in Madison, Wisconsin. Upon receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre f ...

, class of 1998; singer and actress *

Po-Shen Loh Po-Shen Loh (born June 18, 1982) is an American professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University and the national coach of the United States' International Math Olympiad team. Under his coaching, the team won the competition in 2015, 2016 ...

, class of 2000; mathematician and IMO coach *

Wesley Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Jr. (born October 14, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles. He is the son of ...

, class of 2005;

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

guard * Jeronne Maymon (born 1991), former basketball player for

Hapoel Eilat B.C. Hapoel Eilat ( he, הפועל אילת), for sponsorship reasons named Hapoel Yossi Avrahami Eilat, is an Israeli basketball club. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli basketball. The team represents th ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

* Keaton Nankivil, class of 2007; Basketball player former basketball player for the

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and currently playing basketball in Italy professionally *

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, basketball player *

Jay Norvell Merritt James Norvell III (born March 28, 1963) is an American college football coach and former player who is currently the head coach for the Colorado State Rams. Norvell served as the head football coach at University of Nevada, Reno from 2017 ...

, former NFL

Dave Pasch Dave Pasch (born August 11, 1972) is an ESPN announcer, covering the NBA, college football, and college basketball. He is also the radio play-by-play voice of the Arizona Cardinals. Personal life Pasch grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, to parents ...

, class of 1990;

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announcer covering the NBA, college football and basketball *

Jeffrey Sprecher Jeffrey Craig Sprecher (, , born February 23, 1955) is an American businessman, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Early life Sprecher was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the s ...

, class of 1974; founder and CEO of

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Sherri Steinhauer Sherri Steinhauer (born December 27, 1962) is an American professional golfer who plays on the Legends Tour. She retired from the LPGA Tour in 2012 after a 26-year career. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended The University of Texas at ...

, former pro golfer * Saahil "UNiVeRsE" Arora, class of 2008; professional ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...

'' player for

Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, ''Call of Duty'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', ''Dota 2'', ''Fortni ...

References

External links

* {{authority control High schools in Madison, Wisconsin Public high schools in Wisconsin Educational institutions established in 1966 1966 establishments in Wisconsin