Judson High School is the second oldest International Baccalaureate World School in Texas, since 1985. The school and the District were named after Moses Campbell Judson, who served on the Bexar County School Board from 1918 to 1939. His nephew Jack Judson was on the board when the decision was made to name the new rural high school Judson.[3]
For a portion of its history up through 2010, Judson High School used a dual campus system wherein juniors and seniors attended the "Red Campus" and freshmen and sophomores attended the "Gray Campus." Previous to this dual campus system, Judson also had an atypical structure because it only housed grades 10–12 with the middle schools supporting grades 7–9. These structural departures from a typical high school system were due to efforts to accommodate the area's rapid population growth.
A single building now houses all departments with the exception of the agriculture facilities. All original buildings that made up the Red Campus were razed in 2011 to make way for new athletic fields and tennis courts, and the Gray Campus was re-purposed into Judson Middle School. The Judson ISD Performing Arts Center (PAC), constructed in 1998, houses the band, choir, orchestra, and drama classes. The PAC facility has a recital hall that seats 216 people, and an Auditorium that has 840 seats. The Judson ISD Performing Arts Center is physically connected to Judson High School via a vestibule.
Judson's athletic programs have experienced state championship success in several sports amassing 10 state championships (6 in football, 3 in track and field, and 1 in basketball).
Football
The Judson Rocket football program emerged as a perennial power in the 1977 season.[5] Judson won its first state championship in 1983.[6][7]
D.W. Rutledge coached the Rockets until 2000 amassing a record of 198-31-5 taking the Rockets to seven state championship games, and winning four state titles.[8] The football stadium is named after Coach Rutledge in his honor.[9]
After the 2000 season, the team went to the state playoffs in nine of eleven seasons making three championship game appearances and winning one state championship.[10]
Mark Smith, formerly of Kerrville Tivy High School where he coached Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, assumed head coaching duties at Judson from 2012 through 2013.[11]
Sean McAuliffe, an alumnus of Judson High School and its football program, became the head coach starting with the 2014 season.[12][13]
Judson offensive coordinator Rodney Williams became head coach in May 2019.[14] In his first season Williams led the Rockets to a regular season record of 9–1, but the team lost to Lake Travis 48–35 in the Region 4 Final, finishing the season at 12–2.[15]
Judson has made it to the playoffs 42 times over 59 total seasons, advanced to the state semifinal level 18 times,[16] reached the state title game 11 times, and won the state championship six times.[17]
Judson holds the all-time Texas state record with 47 consecutive winning seasons from 1977 through 2023. The team last finished with a losing record in 1976 and is a combined 462–106–5 during the streak.[18][19] The previous record for consecutive winning seasons was 36 set by Plano Senior High School. During the current streak, Judson has won over 80 percent of its games, and the worst record in 44 years is 7–5 with a worst regular season record of 6–4 (happened 4 times).
Years
Record
Winning Percentage
1977 to 2020
462-106-5
81%
1962 to 2020
515-200-10
72%
Judson's season records during the streak from 1977 to 2022 are below.
Year
Record
Coach
Season Result
1977
10–1
Sanders
Lost in bi-district round to San Antonio Holmes 14–21
1978
10–2
Sanders
Lost in regional round to San Antonio Churchill 14–30
1979
10–1
Sanders
Lost in bi-district round to San Antonio Jay 28–0
1980
6–4
Arnold
Missed playoffs
1981
7–3
Arnold
Missed playoffs
1982
14–1
Arnold
State semifinalist losing to Beaumont Westbrook 12–27
1983
15–1
Arnold
State champion defeating Midland Lee 25–21
1984
11–2–1
Rutledge
State quarterfinalist losing to San Antonio Madison 16–19
1985
12–2
Rutledge
State quarterfinalist losing to San Antonio Holmes 29–30
1986
12–1
Rutledge
State quarterfinalist losing to Austin Reagan 15–18
1987
9–1–1
Rutledge
Lost in area championship to state semifinalist Fort Bend Willowridge 17–8
1988
15–1
Rutledge
State champion defeating Dallas Carter 1–0 (Carter won game 31–14 but was later disqualified)
1989
14–1
Rutledge
State semifinalist losing to Aldine 14–48
1990
14–2
Rutledge
State finalist losing to Marshall 19–21
1991
11–3
Rutledge
State semifinalist losing to Fort Bend Dulles 26–27
1992
14–1
Rutledge
State champion defeating Euless Trinity 52–0
1993
13–0–2
Rutledge
State champion defeating Plano 36–13
1994
10–3–1
Rutledge
State semifinalist losing to Katy 19–42
1995
14–1
Rutledge
State champion defeating Odessa Permian 31–28
1996
13–2
Rutledge
State finalist losing to Lewisville 34–58
1997
7–4
Rutledge
Lost in bi-district round to Austin Crockett 15–26
1998
14–1
Rutledge
State finalist losing to Duncanville 21–24
1999
7–3
Rutledge
Missed playoffs
2000
8–3
Rutledge
Lost in bi-district round to Austin Westlake 6–35
2001
9–3
Rackley
Lost in regional round to San Antonio Taft 13–32
2002
14–1
Rackley
State champion defeating Midland 33–32
2003
6–4
Rackley
Missed playoffs
2004
13–1
Rackley
State semifinalist losing to Spring Westfield 14–28
2005
10–5
Rackley
State finalist losing to Euless Trinity 14–28
2006
6–4
Rackley
Missed playoffs
2007
11–5
Rackley
State finalist losing to Euless Trinity 10–13
2008
8–3
Rackley
Lost in bi-district round to San Antonio Stevens 12–14
2009
9–3
Rackley
Lost in area round to Austin Westlake 17–43
2010
7–5
Rackley
Lost in area round to San Antonio Stevens 27–33
2011
8–3
Rackley
Lost in bi-district round to San Antonio Madison 24–25
2012
8–4
Smith
Lost in area round to San Antonio O'Connor 28–34
2013
11–3
Smith
State quarterfinalist losing to San Antonio Madison 29–33
2014
10–5
McAuliffe
State semifinalist losing to Cypress Ranch 31–38
2015
13–2
McAuliffe
State semifinalist losing to Galena Park North Shore 17–23
2016
9–3
McAuliffe
Lost in second round to state quarterfinalist Austin Westlake 21–24
2017
10–2
McAuliffe
Lost in second round to state finalist Austin Lake Travis, 39–47
2018
12–1
McAuliffe
State quarterfinalist losing to state semifinalist Lake Travis 38–21
2019
12–2
Williams
State quarterfinalist losing to state semifinalist Lake Travis 48–35
2020
6–3
Williams
Lost in bi-district round to San Antonio Roosevelt 21–28
2021
4–6
Williams/Joel Call
Missed Playoffs
2022
5–7
Soto
Lost in area round to State finalist Austin Vandegrift 7–37
2023
4–8
Soto
Lost in area round to state quarterfinalist Dripping Springs 34–38
Basketball
The Judson Rocket boys basketball program has been a perennial contender under coach Michael Wacker. Judson has been to the UIL state tournament three times: 1992–1993, 2000–2001, and 2013–2014.[20] In all three instances, Judson lost to the eventual state champion. The Rockets finished the 2014 season with a record of 37–2, the best record in Judson boys basketball history.
Year
Title
Coach
Season Result
1993
State Finalist
Wacker
Lost to Fort Worth Dunbar 74–64
2001
State Semifinalist
Wacker
Lost to Sugar Land Willowridge 67–64 (2OT)
2014
State Finalist
Wacker
Lost to Galena Park North Shore 57–45
Under coach Triva Corrales, the Judson Rocket girls basketball program has been to the UIL state tournament four times (2017–2020) losing to the eventual state champion in 2017, 2018, and 2020.[21][22][23] Judson beat Desoto in 2019 to claim its first state title in girls basketball.[24]
Year
Title
Coach
Season Result
2017
State Semifinalist
Corrales
Lost to Duncanville 53–41
2018
State Finalist
Corrales
Lost to Plano 62–58
2019
State Champion
Corrales
Beat Desoto 49–46
2020
State Semifinalist
Corrales
Lost to Duncanville 45–36
Softball
The Judson Rocket girls softball program has emerged as a very competitive program under coach Theresa Urbanovsky. Judson made its first UIL state tournament in 2021.[25] The Rockets finished the 2021 season with a record of 35–3, the best record in Judson girls softball history.
Year
Title
Coach
Season Result
2021
State Finalist
Urbanovsky
Lost to Deer Park 1–0
Track and Field
Judson track and field programs have experienced significant success having won 3 state titles. The boys team won the 2013 Texas 5A state track meet,[26][27] and the girls team won consecutive Texas 5A/6A state championships in 2014 and 2015.[28][29][30]
Year
Title
Coach
Season Result
2013
State Champion
Faught
Won 5A boys state team title
2014
State Champion
Gerbich
Won 5A girls state team title
2015
State Champion
Gerbich
Won 6A girls state team title
Wrestling
The wrestling program has recent individual state titles in the 140 lbs. weight class through Aaron Walker (2010–5th, 2011–1st, 2012–1st).[31][32]
Notable alumni
Mike Azzaro (Class of 1983) — former professional polo player