Mountain View High School (Utah)

History

Students arrived for the first year of school in 1980 amid ongoing construction. The student body was made up of 10-12th grade students from Orem High School, Orem Junior High School and Lakeridge Junior High school. The school itself is a long, narrow building with two levels, including an overlooking balcony. The building features a double gym, a double-tiered auditorium (which hosted the Miss Utah Pageant for several years), several tennis courts, baseball fields, a stadium with an embedded track, and a two-part cafeteria.

The name of the school was voted on by the students who were going to attend it during its first year. They also chose the mascot, the Bruin, whose name is Beuford T. Bruin (T. standing for "The"). The students wanted to name the school "Rocky Mountain High," to reflect its geographic location in the Rocky Mountains in Utah, but this was frowned upon by many administrators and parents.

The school is noted for its numerous state and national championships. It is also noted for its immaculate theatre, music program and arts program, which have all won many awards on state and national levels. Mountain View is also known for its excellence through the students performance, the faculty's work ethic, and the spirit of the school.

Athletic program

In 2000, Mountain View High School was awarded the "Utah Sports Program of the Century" award by the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. Since the school opened in 1980, Mountain View has won over 80 state championships and over 110 region championships. Most of these titles were won during the ten-year period from 1992 to 2002.

Boys' soccer

Boys' track & field

Boys' basketball

Boys' cross country

Football

Girls' track & field

Girls' basketball

Girls' cross country

Girls' soccer

Girls' volleyball

Deseret News' All Sports Awards

Mountain View High School has won Deseret News' All Sports Award nine times. They won five times in the 5A classification and four times in the 4A classification ('92-'93, '94-'95, '97-'98, '98-'99, '99-'00, '00-'01, '01-'02, '02-'03, '03-'04).

Sports and Coach Houle

Through the years Mountain View gained a national reputation for their athletics. With national championships in boys' cross country (3), girls' cross country (3), an ESPN National Championship in girls' basketball (1) in 2001, and numerous national records broken, the school has become a well-recognized name throughout the country.

Coaching since 1981 was Dave Houle, a member of the National Hall of Fame who amassed more state championships than any other high school coach, and was named by USA Today as "The Most Successful High School Coach in America". He helped the schools' athletes, in boys' and girls' track and cross country, and girls' basketball, earn 68 state championships, as well as numerous region trophies. After winning the boys' cross country national title in 2002, he was named the Coach of the Year. His athletes were known for their love and support towards their opponents, and for years of service to the Orem City community. Houle's reign, however, ended with allegations of inappropriate conduct while on a road trip with his basketball team. Houle is reported to have allowed two girls who had been sick to sleep in his room while he walked in the lobby of the hotel all night to keep them away from the rest of the team. Both the girls and their parents said nothing wrong was done and they appreciated the gesture made. Though no accusations of impropriety surfaced, several rules were violated in allowing the members of his team to use his hotel room. Despite being aggressively recruited by other schools throughout his coaching reign, Houle opted to stick to what he loved best and later worked at a nearby private school.

In his final days of coaching, Houle said, "I'm 52, and I hope to die at 92, so I have 40 good years left of coaching."

Houle currently lives in American Fork, Utah.

Notable alumni