Gaither High School
Location
Map
16200 North Dale Mabry Highway

Tampa
,
Florida
33618

United States
Coordinates 28°06′11″N 82°30′14″W / 28.1030709°N 82.5039843°W / 28.1030709; -82.5039843
Information
Type Public high school
Motto "Commitment to Excellence"
Established 1984
School district Hillsborough County Public Schools
Superintendent Van Ayers
Principal Dr. Jeremy D. Klein
Teaching staff 97.50 (FTE)[1]
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 2,078 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio 21.31[1]
Colors Silver, white, and blue
     
Nickname Cowboys
Rival Steinbrenner High School
Newspaper The Pony Express
Yearbook Silver Star
Feeder schools Ben Hill Middle School, Buchanan Middle School, Walker Middle School
Website www.hillsboroughschools.org/o/gaither

Gaither High School is a public high school located in the Northdale area of Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It opened in 1984 and is located on 16200 North Dale Mabry Highway. Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida, was built around the same time and has the same architectural design.

The school serves the communities of Northdale, Carrollwood Village, Lake Magdalene, and other parts of northern Hillsborough County, such as Avila and parts of southern Lutz.

History and traditions

When Gaither first opened up its doors in 1984–85, seniors were not in attendance, and the school served only 9th–11th graders. (Gaither did not have a class of 1985.) In the 1985–86 year (class of 1989), Gaither kept its doors open to 9th graders. The following year in 1986–87, Gaither ceased to include 9th graders and began to only house the 10th–12th grades until 1997, when Gaither reinstated a four-year program. Gaither's graduating class of 1988 was the very first group of students that included all four years.

On January 31, 2009, Gaither High School hosted the seventh annual Snoop Bowl, a youth football game which puts a youth team coached by Snoop Dogg against a youth team coached by an NFL player in conjunction with the Super Bowl, which was in Tampa.[2]

Each year, the school hosts a Special Olympics and a Multicultural Assembly. The school's homecoming is called Starlight.

Athletics

Gaither offers a variety of seasonal sports for student participation. Sports for both boys and girls include cross country, golf, swimming, volleyball, basketball, soccer, tennis and track. Hockey players attending Gaither play for Freedom High School [1]. In addition, boys sports include baseball, wrestling and football while girls compete in softball, flag football and competitive cheer. In certain situations girls may compete on boys teams that do not have a comparable girls team; this typically is found in wrestling, and more rarely in football and baseball. Gaither's main rivals are Steinbrenner High School and Sickles High School.

Demographics

As of 2020, Gaither High School was 44% Hispanic, 37.6% White, 10.4% Black, 3.8% Asian, 3.7% Multi-racial, 0.3% American Indian and 0.1% Pacific Islander.[3]

Notable alumni

  • Eddie Ababio, Major League Soccer player[4]
  • Adam Bilzerian, winner of the 2009 World Series of Poker[5]
  • Dan Bilzerian, internet personality and professional poker player
  • Kevin Cash, Major League Baseball catcher and current Tampa Bay Rays manager
  • Fernando Gonzalez, North American Soccer League player
  • Jennifer Kesse, missing person
  • Alex McGough, NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks[6]
  • Oscar Mercado, baseball player[7]
  • Carlton Mitchell, NFL wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons
  • Jordan Oladokun, NFL cornerback for the Los Angeles Chargers[8]
  • Amani Oruwariye, NFL cornerback for the Detroit Lions[9]
  • J.R. Russell, NFL wide receiver
  • Brittany Snow, actress
  • Jenn Sterger, sports reporter and model[10]
  • Kaleb Stewart, musician[11]
  • Channing Tatum, actor (transferred to and graduated from Tampa Catholic High School)
  • Jackie Toledo, politician[12][13]
  • Chad Zerbe, San Francisco Giants relief pitcher
  • Lydell Ross, NCAA Football National Champion (2002 - Ohio State), NFL Running Back (San Diego Chargers)
  • Donovan Jennings, NFL offensive guard for the Green Bay Packers
  • Eugene Wilson III, Florida Gators wide receiver

References

  1. ^ a b c "GAITHER HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Saturday's Best Super Bowl Parties". Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for GAITHER HIGH SCHOOL". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "UNC Men's Soccer Bio". Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  5. ^ Barancik, Scott (June 22, 2001). "FBI Agents Raid Bilzerian Home". St. Petersburg Times.
  6. ^ Knight, Joey (April 28, 2018). "Seahawks draft Gaither High alumnus Alex McGough". Tampa Bay Times.
  7. ^ "Florida high school sports - Gaither SS Oscar Mercado accepts $1.5 million deal with Cardinals". Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  8. ^ "Football Announces Pair Of Signees To Round Out 2021 Signing Class". samfordsports.com. February 3, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  9. ^ "Amani Oruwariye Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com.
  10. ^ Gillin, Joshua (November 19, 2010). "Gaither High grad Jenn Sterger ditches her famous implants". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  11. ^ "Final Traditions: Seniors". Tradition with a Twist: Silver Star 1993 - Gaither High School Yearbook (High school yearbook). Vol. Nine (1993 ed.). Tampa, Florida: Gaither High School. June 1993. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via Classmates.
  12. ^ "Civil engineer Jackie Toledo files for Tampa City Council District 6". March 25, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "Jackie Toledo, Debra Bellanti face off for Florida House District 60: What you need to know". Florida Politics. November 5, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
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