Oxford High School (Michigan)

The present site, previously a middle school campus, opened in 2004.[4] When renovations were completed, the middle school and high school swapped buildings, with the middle school now located in the old high school building on Lakeville Road.

Since 2004, the high school has added over 500 students to its enrollment.[5]

Oxford High School is an authorized International Baccalaureate World School for the Diploma Programme.[6]

Oxford High School offers 24 different varsity sports.[7] Teams participate in the Oakland Activities Association, a high school athletic conference whose member schools have similar enrollments and are all located in the Oakland County area.[8] The statewide class designation (based on enrollment) is "Division 1" or "Class A".[9]

The school's primary mascot is the Wildcat. Both the high school and the middle school have teams which are referred to as the "Oxford Wildcats". Oxford's chief rival is Lake Orion, located directly in the township to the south, and connected by M-24. In American football, the two teams compete for the "Double-O" (Oxford/Orion) rivalry trophy. They had competed annually from at least 1950 until 1983, when Oxford moved to the Flint Metro League (FML). During FML play, Oxford's chief rivals were Lapeer East High School and Lapeer West High School, located in Lapeer approximately 15 miles north of Oxford on M-24.

Before the 2010-2011 year, Oxford High School moved from the FML, where it had been a member school since 1983, to the Oakland Activities Association. Reasons for the move included demographic and geographic considerations. Urban sprawl in Metro Detroit over the years had brought Oxford in from the rural–urban fringe and closer in-line with the greater Detroit area like much of the OAA, rather than the Flint area.[10] As a result of the move, the sports rivalry with Lake Orion resumed after 27 years.

Oxford has won state championships in boys' track (1991 class B), football (1992 class BB) and wrestling (2011 class A).[11]

Oxford has won several state championships with its equestrian team, in 1980 (division B), 2008 (division C), 2012 (division A), 2016 (division B) and 2017 (division A).[12][13]

In 2011, Oxford athletics installed artificial turf for the football stadium at a cost of $400,000, which was to be paid for with private donations. Initially, the turf was to be paid for with public bonds, but the millage failed to pass voters.[14] The AstroTurf made headlines when it was revealed that several athletics boosters had put their personal homes up as collateral for the purchase of the field.[15] When initial fundraising efforts came up short, the boosters were left with a $300,000 balance and were in danger of defaulting. An agreement was reached between the boosters and AstroTurf that allowed for an extended payback period.[16] The turf also made headlines when Boise State University notified Oxford that they held a trademark on the term "Blue Turf" for their field at Albertsons Stadium.[17] Therefore, Oxford could not continue calling their field "blue turf" but could use the terms "navy turf", "Oxford blue turf" or "true blue turf".[18]

• Jim Bates, 1964, former professional American football coach[19]
• Eric Ghiaciuc, 2000, former professional American football player
• Mike Lantry, 1966, former University of Michigan American football kicker[20]
• Zach Line, 2008, professional American football player
• Dave Rayner, 2001, former professional American football player

• Oxford Schools: Oxford High School