Private School League
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| Conference | IHSA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1930 |
| Ceased | 2009 |
| No. of teams | 27 |
| Region | NortheastIllinois(Bureau,DuPage,Kane,Lake,LaSalle,McHenry,WillandWinnebagocounties) |
| Locations | |
 The Private School League within Illinois | |
ThePrivate School Leaguewas ahigh schoolconferencein northeasternIllinois.The conference participated in athletics and activities in theIllinois High School Association.The conference comprised 28 small private schools, with enrollments between 50 and 400 students, inBureau,DuPage,Kane,Lake,LaSalle,McHenry,Will,andWinnebagocounties.
History
[edit]In December 1930, five private religious and secular schools in theChicagoarea came together to create an athletic conference for non-public schools. The five schools werenChicago Christianof Palos Heights, Chicago Luther Institute,Wheaton Academy,Chicago Central YMCA, and thePullman Free School of Manual Trainingin Chicago. Initially the conference was organized for basketball only; however, as time progressed, the conference added other sports.
The league soon expanded with other secular and private academies. In 1931, Pullman School withdrew from the league. In 1935,Chicago Harvard Schooland Chicago North Park Academy joined, as didFrancis W. Parker SchoolandWoodstock Todd Seminaryin 1936. Another addition to the league occurred in 1938, withChicago Latin School,Chicago University High School,and the high school program ofConcordia Teachers Collegejoining. Chicago Central YMCA withdrew in 1939, leaving the league with a total of 10 teams as the 1940 school year commenced.
Luther Institute split intoLuther NorthandLuther Southin 1953, and in 1954,Elgin Academy,Glenwood School, andNorth Shore Country Day Schooljoined the conference. In 1955,Walther Lutheran High School(Melrose Park) joined the league. With these additions, the league divided into two divisions with a championship game between the division winners. The championship game was dropped after 1957 but the division set up remained until 1966 when 6 schools left to form the Independent School League. Those schools were Chicago Latin, Elgin Academy, Francis W. Parker School, Glenwood School for boys,Morgan Park Academy,and North Shore Country Day. Morgan Park Academy had joined in 1960, however, it was included with the six teams that exited the conference and with Chicago Harvard leaving the conference in 1962, it left the league with a total of seven teams at the beginning of the 1967 school year.
North Park Academy departed the conference in 1969, Wheaton Academy left in 1971. To replace them, Little Flower Academy andProvidence Catholic High Schoolwere added in 1971.Aurora Central Catholic High Schoolwas added in 1973 when Little Flower Academy closed, keeping the league at seven members as the 1970s came to a close.
Nazareth Academyjoined in 1980, and Wheaton Academy returned to the league in 1984 for just the one season. In 1987, Providence Catholic High School left while in 1995,St. GregoryandPeru St. Bedejoined. Aurora Central Catholic High School left the conference in 1997 and in 1998, St. Gregory and Peru St. Bede left the league andAurora Christian High Schooljoined. In 2001, Nazareth Academy left butRockford Christian High School,Rockford Christian Life High School,andRockford Lutheran High Schoolbecame members of the league. In 2003, Rockford Christian and Lutheran left andLake Forest Academyjoined. In 2005,Seton Academybecame the final addition to the league, although Wheaton Academy, a team that had been part of the league two times before, returned in 2007. As the conference came to a conclusion in 2009, it had ten teams, most of which joined theSuburban Christian Conference,Metro Suburban Conference,Northeastern Athletic Conference,orIndependent School League.[1]
All-Time Membership
[edit]The Private School League had 29 teams throughout its history, the list of schools encompasses all of the schools which were once a part of the conference.
| School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Year Joined | Year Left | IHSAClasses A/AA[2] | IHSAFootball Class[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Christian High School |
Palos Heights, IL | Knights | Purple, Gold |
1930 | 2003 | 2A | 4A |
| Chicago Luther Institute |
Chicago, IL | Wildcats | Blue, Gold |
1930 | 1953 | - | - |
| Wheaton Academy | West Chicago, IL | Warrior | Maroon, White |
1930 1984 2007 |
1971 1985 2009 |
3A | 4A |
| Chicago Harvard School |
Chicago, IL | Hurricanes | Black, Gold |
1935 | 1962 | - | - |
| Chicago North Park Academy |
Chicago, IL | Vikings | Royal Blue, Gold |
1935 | 1969 | - | - |
| Francis W. Parker High School |
Chicago, IL | Colonels | Blue, White |
1936 | 1966 | - | - |
| Woodstock Todd Seminary[4] |
Woodstock, IL | Red Raiders | Red, White |
1936 | 1954 | - | - |
| Chicago Latin School |
Chicago, IL | Romans | Blue, Orange |
1938 | 1966 | - | - |
| Chicago University High School |
Chicago, IL | Maroons | Maroon, White |
1938 | 2009 | 2A | - |
| Concordia High School |
River Forest, IL | Cougars | Maroon, Gold |
1938 | 2009 | - | - |
| Luther North High School |
Chicago, IL | Wildcats | Blue, Gold |
1953 | 2009 | 1A | 2A |
| Luther South High School |
Chicago, IL | Braves | Blue, Gold |
1953 | 2009 | 1A | 2A |
| Elgin Academy |
Elgin, IL | Hilltoppers | Orange, Black |
1954 | 1966 | - | - |
| Glennwood School for boys |
Glenwood, IL | Wildcats | Blue, Gold |
1954 | 1966 | - | - |
| North Shore Country Day School |
Winnetka, IL | Raiders | Purple, White |
1954 | 1966 | - | - |
| Morgan Park Academy |
Chicago, IL | Warriors | Maroon, Ivory |
1960 | 1966 | - | - |
| Little Flower Academy |
Chicago, IL | Lancers | Black, White |
1971 | 1973 | - | - |
| Providence High School |
New Lenox, IL | Celtics | Kelly Green, White |
1971 | 1995 | A | 3A |
| Aurora Central Catholic High School |
Aurora, IL | Chargers | Blue, Gold |
1973 | 1997 | A | 3A |
| Nazareth Academy |
La Grange Park, IL | Roadrunners | Columbia Blue, White & Navy Blue |
1980 | 2001 | A | 3A |
| Peru St. Bede High School |
Peru, IL | Bruins | Green, White |
1995 | 1998 | A | 2A |
| St. Gregory High School |
Chicago, IL | Greyhounds | Red, White, Royal Blue, Gray |
1995 | 2009 | A | 2A |
| Aurora Christian High School |
Aurora, IL | Eagles | Red, White, Gray |
1998 | 2009 | A | 2A |
| Rockford Christian Life High School |
Rockford, IL | Eagles | Blue, Gray |
2001 | 2009 | A | 2A |
| Rockford Christian High School |
Rockford, IL | Royal Lions | Royal Blue, Metallic Gold, Black |
2001 | 2003 | A | 2A |
| Rockford Lutheran High School |
Rockford, IL | Crusaders | Purple, White |
2001 | 2003 | A | 2A |
| Lake Forest Academy |
Lake Forest, IL | Caxys | Orange, Black |
2003 | 2009 | A | 2A |
| Seton Academy |
South Holland, IL | Sting | Black, White, Gold |
2005 | 2009 | A | 2A |
| Walther Lutheran High School |
Melrose Park, IL | Broncos | Green, White | 1955 | 2009 | A | 2A |
Sources:IHSA Conferences,[5]IHSA Coop Teams,[6]and IHSA Member Schools Directory[7]
Membership timeline
[edit]
Full members
References
[edit]- ^"The Great Conferences".illinoishsglorydays.RetrievedMarch 17,2020.
- ^IHSA.org Enrollments
- ^"Records & History".ihsa.org.
- ^"Todd Seminary for Boys 1848-1954"(PDF).Woodstock Public Library.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 5, 2014.RetrievedMarch 17,2020.
- ^"Conferences & Affiliated Schools | Schools | IHSA".ihsa.org.
- ^"Cooperative Teams | School Directory | Schools | IHSA".ihsa.org.
- ^"School Directory | IHSA".ihsa.org.