School Board Votes To Name MIHS Gym Floor/Court Ed Pepple Court

An artist's rendering of what the MIHS gym floor and the sign that will hang in the gym could look like.

Mercer Island, WA, March 12, 2026 – This evening the Mercer Island School Board voted to name the Mercer Island High School gym floor/court the Ed Pepple Court.

The vote was taken tonight after the Board heard both a recommendation from the District’s Naming Committee and public input.

Pepple was the MIHS boys basketball coach from 1967 to 2009 and is the all-time winningest high school boys basketball coach in Washington State with 952 wins. Pepple was the head coach of four State Championship teams and three State Championship runner-up teams. He won 23 KingCo League Championships, was the Naismith National Coach of the Year in 1998, was a seven-time Washington State Coach of the Year, is in the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame and founded the Little Dribblers Youth Basketball Program on Mercer Island.

Mercer Island community member Frank Schott submitted a request, following Board Policy 6970 Naming District Facilities, to the Board on May 20, 2025 to name the MIHS gym court/floor after Pepple. Schott’s entire proposal can be reviewed here.

After receiving the submission from Schott, MISD published a community survey on September 3, 2025, to receive community feedback to assist the Facility Naming Committee in their review of the proposal and in the development of the committee’s recommendation to the School Board.

The survey included a FAQ on the facility naming process.

The Board adopted Board Policy 6970 - Naming District Facilities on March 27, 2025, to guide the naming and renaming of facilities owned and operated by the District. The cost associated with the naming of a MISD facility is the responsibility of the nominating party.

The unveiling date of Ed Pepple Court has not yet been determined. Once a date is determined the District will notify the community.

Note: The gym floor image used at the top of this story, and on the right, is an artist’s rendering of what the name on the MIHS gym floor could look like. The font, font size, and location of the name could change. A sign reading Welcome To Ed Pepple Court, resembling the artist’s rendering in the image at the top of this message, and on the right, will hang on the west wall of the MIHS gym.