Brookline High School - Athletics

Athletics

Brookline High School features the largest interscholastic athletics program in New England, with 71 teams in 40 sports. Some of the atypical sports include golf, crew, sailing and rugby.

Since 1894, the Brookline High football team plays rival Newton North High School in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. This is one of the oldest high school football rivalries in Massachusetts and on the List of high school football rivalries (100 years+).

In 2007, Brookline's boys cross country team made history by winning the first ever Nike Team Nationals northeast regional meet by just one point over Danbury High School at Bowdin Park, NY. They went on to place 7th at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, OR. In addition to the 2007 campaign, in the 2006 and 2009 seasons the team placed 3rd at the Massachusett's Division 1 State Meet, in 2005 they finished 2nd, and on Nov. 20, 2010 won their second state championship giving them their fifth top 3 finish in six years and second 1st place finish in four. On Nov. 19, 2011, they won their third state championship, for a run of 3 championships in five years.

Beginning in late 2006, there was much controversy surrounding the school mascot, the Warriors. The school department had many meetings about whether or not this mascot was politically correct and if it should remain (in the early 90s the mascot was changed from the Brookline Indians to the Warriors). One idea was to change the Brookline High mascot to the "Brookline Bookworms." Some argued that the "feathered arrow" was a tool common among cultures of all kinds throughout history including medieval Europeans and had no negative connotations relating specifically to Native Americans. After deliberation, it was decided that the mascot would remain the Warriors; however, the arrow that has represented the team for many years would have to be changed. The new symbol has yet to be determined.

In 2005, Brookline High School's Rugby Football team captured the DI New England Championship, its first since 1987. In 2009, the team captured the DII title in the NERFU tournament in Pembroke, New Hampshire. The ruggers defeated Belmont 29-0 to win the New England title for the second time in five years (first in DII).