Bishop Luers High School

Bishop Luers High School
Bishop Luers High School
Address
333 East Paulding Road Fort Wayne , Indiana 46819 United States
Coordinates	41°01′54″N85°08′03″W / 41.031626°N 85.134281°W / 41.031626; -85.134281
Information
Type	Private, coeducational
Motto	"We Are the Light of the World"
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1958
Oversight	Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Principal	Seth Coffing
Teaching staff	40.9 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	553 (2024-2025) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	11.8 [1]
Color(s)
Athletics conference	Summit Athletic Conference
Nickname	Knights
Rival	Bishop Dwenger High School
Accreditation	Lumen
Newspaper	KnightTimes
Yearbook	Accolade
Tuition	Catholic Rate: $9,885 Non-Catholic Rate: $11,118
Website	www.bishopluers.org

Bishop Luers High School is a Catholic school owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. ^[3] Bishop Luers is located on the south side of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The school was founded in 1958 by the Franciscan Fathers of the Saint John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati, Ohio, along with the Sisters of Saint Francis Province in Mishawaka, Indiana. The first bishop of the diocese, John Henry Luers, is the namesake of the school. ^[3]

Academics

Bishop Luers' education departments consist of Theology, Fine Arts, Business, English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, and Social Studies. ^[4] In 2004 and in 2005, Bishop Luers was placed on the Catholic High School Honor Roll Top 50 Secondary Schools in America. ^{[5] [6]}

Extra-curricular activities

Bishop Luers offers an array of activities for students. Activities include Academic Super Bowl, Book Club, Bowling, Chess Club, Catholic Intelligence Agency (CIA), Cheerleading, Freshman Mentoring, Future Business Leaders of America, Heather's Closet/Locker Room Leaders, Key Club, Knights for Life, National Honor Society (NHS), Newspaper, Pep Band, Philosophy Club, Show Choir, Spell Bowl, Student Ambassadors, Student Government, Theater, Ukulele Society, World Culture Club, and Yearbook.

Performing Arts

Bishop Luers High School is known for their robust Performing Arts programs, including the Minstrels Show Choir, Concert Choir, and Theater productions. The Theater Department has three performances each year, one play and two musicals.

Bishop Luers is the birthplace of the first Show Choir Invitational in the nation, held in 1975.

Programs offered

The Bishop Luers Knights field teams in 19 sanctioned sports and 6 non-sanctioned (club) sports. All sanctioned sports are governed by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). The lacrosse team is a member of the Indiana High School Lacrosse Association. ^[7]

All sanctioned Bishop Luers teams compete in the Summit Athletic Conference (SAC).

In 2008, Bishop Luers became the first team in Indiana high school athletic history to win and hold the three major male sports titles (football, basketball, and baseball) in one year since 1973, the first year all three were recognized by the Indiana High School Athletic Association. ^[8]

Sport	Sanctioned boys'	Sanctioned girls'	Non-sanctioned
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Bowling			Y
Cheerleading			Y
Cross country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming and diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y	Y (boys')
Wrestling	Y

Luers' main rival is Bishop Dwenger High School, a Catholic school on the north side of Fort Wayne. Luers also has a spirited neighborhood rivalry with South Side High School, which is often termed "The Battle for Calhoun Street."

State championships

The Knights' athletic program has produced 21 team state champions in their history.

Year	Sport	Class	Coach	Opponent
1985-86	Football	2A	Steve Keefer	Lawrenceburg
1989-90	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Tri-West Hendricks
1992-93	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Westfield
1998-99	Basketball - girls'	2A	Gary Andrews	Austin
1999-00	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Danville
1999-00	Basketball - girls'	2A	Gary Andrews	Forest Park
2000-01	Basketball - girls'	2A	Gary Andrews	Shenandoah
2001-02	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Evansville Mater Dei
2001-02	Basketball - girls'	3A	Teri Rosinski	Gibson Southern
2002-03	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Southridge
2005-06	Basketball - girls'	3A	Teri Rosinski	Evansville Memorial
2007-08	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Heritage Christian
2007-08	Basketball - boys'	2A	James Blackmon Sr.	Winchester
2007-08	Baseball	2A	Gary Rogers	Elwood
2008-09	Basketball - boys'	2A	James Blackmon Sr.	Brownstown Central
2009-10	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Monrovia
2010-11	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	North Putnam
2010-11	Basketball - girls'	2A	Denny Renier	Brownstown Central
2011-12	Football	2A	Matt Lindsay	Evansville Mater Dei
2012-13	Football	2A	Steve Keefer	Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter
2023-24	Football	2A	Kyle Lindsay	North Posey
2023-2024	Basketball - girls'	2A	Mark Pixley	Brownstown Central

Football

Bishop Luers has been to the Indiana state finals for football sixteen times, including four consecutive years, 1999 through 2002. Twelve of those sixteen trips have resulted in football championships, all in Class 2A, including four consecutive wins in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. ^{[9] [10]}

The Knights' roster has included many accomplished players who have gone on to play successfully at the professional and NCAA Division I levels. Among the most notable are Anthony Spencer of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Jaylon Smith, winner of the 2012 high school Butkus Award and the 2012 Indiana Mr. Football award, are also alumni.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also: Indiana High School Football Champions - Smaller Schools

Boys' basketball

Coinciding with the 2004 hiring of head coach James Blackmon, Sr., recent seasons have seen championship success for the boys' basketball team. For the four seasons 2006/07 – 2009/10, the Knights' roster featured Deshaun Thomas, recipient of the 2010 Indiana Mr. Basketball award. ^[11] The Knights won two consecutive boys' basketball Class 2A state championships, in 2008 and 2009.

On May 21, 2010, in a ceremony at Bishop Luers, Thomas' jersey (#1) was retired by the school. This was the first time in school history a jersey of any of its athletes had been retired. ^[12]

Girls' basketball

The girls' basketball team won three consecutive Indiana State Class 2A Championship games, in the 1998/99, 1999/2000, and 2000/01 seasons. The following season the team moved up a class, winning a fourth consecutive state title, in Class 3A, in 2001/02. The Knights also won the 2005/06 Class 3A championship.

The Knights' six state championships currently stand as the most all-time by one school in Indiana girls' basketball history, as do the nine championship game appearances. ^[13]

Baseball

In 2008, the boys' baseball team competed for the first time in the state baseball championship, winning the 2A title.

Notable alumni

• Thomas Hammock (1999), head coach of Northern Illinois University football team ^[14]
• Angie Akers (née Harris), beach volleyball player, (Association of Volleyball Professionals), Notre Dame ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Kevin Kiermaier (2008), professional baseball player, Toronto Blue Jays of MLB ^[15]
• Zach Klein, co-founder of video social networking site Vimeo ^[16]
• Austin Mack (2016), NFL player ^[17]
• Jaylon Smith (2013), football player, middle linebacker for New Orleans Saints ^[18]
• Anthony Spencer (2002), football player, outside linebacker for Dallas Cowboys ^[19]
• Deshaun Thomas (2010), basketball player ^[20]

See also

• List of high schools in Indiana
• Summit Athletic Conference (IHSAA)

References

1. "BISHOP LUERS HIGH SCHOOL". Private School Universe Survey. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
2. "Bishop Luers High School". Indiana Department of Education . Retrieved December 4, 2024.
3. "Bishop Luers: Development". Bishop Luers High School. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005.
4. "Bishop Luers Academics". Bishop Luers High School. Archived from the original on April 20, 2005.
5. "Bishop Luers: Our Past and Present". Bishop Luers High School. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008.
6. Catholic High School Honor Roll.
7. "Bishop Luers Athletics". Bishop Luers High School. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005.
8. "Luers baseball team makes history". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
9. "Bishop Luers Football". Bishop Luers High School.^{[ dead link ]}
10. Summit Athletic Conference Football Archived September 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
11. Neddenriep, Kyle (April 4, 2010). "Deshaun Thomas has new title: Indiana Mr. Basketball". Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
12. ^[ dead link ]
13. "IHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament "Mosts"". Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
14. "Thomas Hammock - Head Coach - Staff Directory". NIU Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
15. Kevin Kiermaier Talks About MLB Debut. Wane.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14. Archived December 11, 2013, at archive.today
16. (2006-04-07). Luers grad has hand in college humor book. The News Sentinel. Retrieved on 2009-10-18.
17. Woodard, Adam (October 7, 2015). "Character, values led Austin Mack to select U.S. Army All-American Bowl". USA Today .
18. Gillett, Brian. (December 3, 2012) Jaylon Smith Wins H.S. Butkus Award Archived December 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine . Indianasnewscenter.com. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
19. "Anthony Spencer: The Latest Weapon In Cowboys Arsenal". Lone Star Struck. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
20. "City bids fond farewell to Deshaun Thomas". Frost Illustrated. June 16, 2010. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Bishop Luers Baseball
• Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend