Two months and 11 days after winning the 3A state championship in San Antonio, the Bowie Jackrabbit boy’s basketball team received their championship rings on Monday at the Bowie sports banquet.
Almost immediately following the game, on the five hour ride home, the team got together and started going through the process of making design decisions for the ring, since they would not reconvene in more than a week since it was about to be spring break.
“They all agreed first they wanted the state of Texas with the B on top,” assistant coach at the time Jonathon Horton said. “Then we agreed we wanted the “We Make Mission” logo on the side.”
They wanted to put the Alamodome logo since it was where the championship was won, but the company that makes the rings did not own the copyright to the Alamodome.
The “We Make Mission” logo was based on the Alamodome logo and is different enough to avoid copyright.
With this addition, the rings cost a bit extra, around $250 each, since they featured a custom logo and a larger size. The school and several donators, including Dr. Josh Evans, helped pay for 30 rings for players, coaches, managers, trainers and school officials.
All three of the coaches on staff bought their wives a pendent necklace out of pocket.
The other side of the ring features a basketball, the player’s last name and number. The inside of the ring has the score from the championship game, Bowie 32 and Mount Vernon 28.
During the design process, the team was lucky to have access to several examples as then head coach Doug Boxell had won five state championships.
It was the first time any of the players or staff had seen any of his championship rings. Throughout the whole process, the players made the decisions as a team, with near unanimous agreement.
As the rings were presented, the players looked down at what for many is their first piece of jewelry, with pride. Besides maybe a necklace, not many teenage boys wear jewelry, let alone rings.
“Most of them, that’s the first ring they have ever had in their life,” Horton said. “They all smiled and were all excited to put them on immediately and wore them for the rest of the night. The next day, several of them wore them to school and continue to wear them, but several of the players have already locked theirs up since they have heard stories of people losing theirs.”
Whether it becomes a permanent accessory to people’s wardrobe or not, what the ring represents and the memories it will evoke years down the line is what matters more than any cool design.
To have a visual representation of an achievement is something to be cherished.

To read more, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.