John T. Hoggard High School (commonly known as Hoggard High School) is a public high school in the New Hanover County School System in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Contents
History
Hoggard High School is named after Dr. John Thomas Hoggard (1876–1965), who had an active career in education, beginning with his election as Chairman of the New Hanover County Board of Education in 1935, and ending with his death in 1965. His private papers are kept in the Manuscript Collection at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
In June 2026, the school valedictorian said in his speech: "As my biggest inspiration once said, 'Every human being has something of value that they bring to the table.'" He didn't say who the author was but students communicating over text during the ceremony recognized it from a 2022 interview by Alex Jones with Kanye West. At one point, a Jewish student took the mic and attempted to explain that the valedictorian had omitted the words "...especially Hitler," from the end of the quote. Principal Madden refused to give the Jewish student her diploma. A school board member said, "I don't want to assume he was blowing a dog whistle..." The family released a statement attempting to clarify the nature of the statement.
Athletics
Hoggard High School fields 25 varsity and junior varsity teams across 13 sports. It is a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and is classified as an 8A school. It is a part of the Coastal Carolina 6A/7A/8A Conference. The school mascot is the Viking, and the primary colors are blue and white.
Football Team
The Hoggard football team won their eighth straight conference championship in 2009. In 2007, the team won the NCHSAA 4A state championship with an undefeated record. Hoggard played the championship game against Mount Tabor and defeated them by a score of 28–0.
Academics
John T. Hoggard High School offers fourteen Advanced Placement courses and a substantial number of honors classes. In its class of 2007, 67% of graduating students went on to four-year colleges, and another 29% went on to two-year colleges. 90% of the class took the SAT, and the average math score was 545, while the average critical reading score was 524.
The school also has arts, music, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that allow students to prepare for post-secondary study or careers in areas of business, health care, architecture, engineering, culinary arts, horticulture.
In 2014, Hoggard ranked 11th in the U.S. News & World Report magazine list of top high schools in North Carolina.
Arts
Voyagers
The Voyagers are Hoggard's advanced choral ensemble. The Voyagers were established within the first year of Hoggard's existence and participate in numerous events. The original Voyagers class were responsible for the composition of Hoggard's alma mater, to the tune of Eternal Father, Strong to Save.
Notable people
Alumni
Connor Barth, former NFL kicker
Jeanne Milliken Bonds, politician, lobbyist, and professor
Bob Boyd, professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour
Derek Brunson, UFC fighter
Deb Butler, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
Jonathan Cooper, former NFL offensive guard
Kristen Dalton, Miss USA 2009
Julia Dalton, Miss North Carolina USA 2015
Christopher Jones, actor and dancer
Brad Keeney, former NFL defensive tackle
Kimberly Munley, civilian police officer who helped in stopping the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood
Ralph Ronald "Ron" Musselman, MLB pitcher for the Seattle Mariners (1982) and Toronto Blue Jays (1984–1985)
Bill Saffo, mayor of Wilmington, longest-serving mayor in city history
Bryan Sammons, MLB pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
Todd Vasos, CEO of Dollar General
Faculty
John Rinka, teaches English; was a college basketball stand–out at Kenyon College from 1966 to 1970, scored over 3,000 career points