The Christian County School Board has decided to punt on the name of the new consolidated school complete with a change in school colors and the mascot name.
At a special called meeting Thursday, the board voted 5-0 to name the new school Christian County High School and use the mascot of Tigers, the nickname of Hopkinsville High which will join Christian County High to create the new school.
The new school colors will be orange, black, and blue, taking the primary school color from HHS and CCHS and adding in black.
“This is symbolism of a public high school. This will be a high school for all — all races. All genders. All students in Christian County. All ability levels. All of our community in our schools. And again, a great school,” Superintendent of Schools Chris Bentzel told the board about pivoting away from using Academy in the school name.
Thursday’s move is a full 180-degree turn from April 2022 when the board voted 4-1 to name the new consolidated school Hopkinsville-Christian County Academy with the mascot of the Wolfpack. The lone no vote was from board member Michael Walker who has since resigned from the school board.
A sign with that school name and nickname was erected on the site of the consolidated school at the intersection of Lover’s Lane and Fort Campbell Boulevard.
In announcing HCCA and the Wolfpack, the board said they solicited school names, mascots, and school colors from the public.
In the survey, Hopkinsville-Christian County High School received the most votes among the staff and community. In fact, Hopkinsville-Christian County Academy received the third-most votes among the community behind Hopkinsville-Christian County High School and Christian County High School according to the survey results released by the school district in April 2022.
Hopkinsville-Christian County Academy received 3,716 votes among students, staff, and the community. Christian County High received 3,615 votes and Hopkinsville-Christian County High School received 3,518 votes.
The nickname Wolfpack was seen as a nod to the former Hopkinsville Attucks High School who were the Wolves before the school closed in 1967. HCCA would have been the only school in the state’s history of sports to use the Wolfpack nickname, according to KHSAA archives.
The name change and mascot name is the latest twist in the saga regarding the combining of HHS and CCHS into one school.
Dirt work on the new school was expected to begin in the summer of last year with 2022-23 to serve as a farewell season of athletics at the two schools.
Plans were for the school to be open for the 2024-25 school year with athletics to begin this year.
However, bids for the new school were much higher than expected with one topping out at $200 million. School officials went back to the drawing board to find ways to trim expenses with the new school expected to be built for around $134 million.
The new school will feature a 3,200-seat gymnasium and a smaller gym for practices and classes as part of the 335,000-square-foot property.
Hopkinsville High’s Tiger Gym has a capacity of 4,800, while Christian County High’s capacity is listed at 3,000. Both gyms are approaching 60 years old.
Until the new athletic facilities are built in the second phase, it is expected that current athletic facilities at both schools will be used.
