Private School League

Last updated
Private School League
Conference IHSA
Founded1930
Ceased2009
No. of teams27
RegionNortheast Illinois (Bureau, DuPage, Kane, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, Will and Winnebago counties)
Locations
Private School League locations.png The Private School League within Illinois

The Private School League was a high school conference in northeastern Illinois. The conference participated in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference comprised 28 small private schools, with enrollments between 50 and 400 students, in Bureau, DuPage, Kane, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, Will, and Winnebago counties.

Contents

History

In December 1930, five private religious and secular schools in the Chicago area came together to create an athletic conference for non-public schools. The five schools weren Chicago Christian of Palos Heights, Chicago Luther Institute, Wheaton Academy, Chicago Central YMCA, and the Pullman Free School of Manual Training in 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 School and Chicago North Park Academy joined, as did Francis W. Parker School and Woodstock Todd Seminary in 1936. Another addition to the league occurred in 1938, with Chicago Latin School, Chicago University High School, and the high school program of Concordia Teachers College joining. Chicago Central YMCA withdrew in 1939, leaving the league with a total of 10 teams as the 1940 school year commenced.

Luther Institute split into Luther North and Luther South in 1953, and in 1954, Elgin Academy, Glenwood School, and North Shore Country Day School joined 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 and Providence Catholic High School were added in 1971. Aurora Central Catholic High School was added in 1973 when Little Flower Academy closed, keeping the league at seven members as the 1970s came to a close.

Nazareth Academy joined 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. Gregory and Peru St. Bede joined. Aurora Central Catholic High School left the conference in 1997 and in 1998, St. Gregory and Peru St. Bede left the league and Aurora Christian High School joined. In 2001, Nazareth Academy left but Rockford Christian High School, Rockford Christian Life High School, and Rockford Lutheran High School became members of the league. In 2003, Rockford Christian and Lutheran left and Lake Forest Academy joined. In 2005, Seton Academy became 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 the Suburban Christian Conference, Metro Suburban Conference, Northeastern Athletic Conference, or Independent School League. [1]

All-Time Membership

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.

SchoolLocationMascotColorsYear JoinedYear Left IHSA Classes A/AA [2] IHSA Football Class [3]
Chicago Christian
High School
Palos Heights, IL Knights  
Purple, Gold
193020032A4A
Chicago Luther
Institute
Chicago, IL Wildcats  
Blue, Gold
19301953--
Wheaton Academy West Chicago, IL Warrior  
Maroon, White
1930
1984
2007
1971
1985
2009
3A4A
Chicago Harvard
School
Chicago, IL Hurricanes  
Black, Gold
19351962--
Chicago North
Park Academy
Chicago, ILVikings  
Royal Blue, Gold
19351969--
Francis W. Parker
High School
Chicago, IL Colonels  
Blue, White
19361966--
Woodstock Todd
Seminary
[4]
Woodstock, IL Red Raiders  
Red, White
19361954--
Chicago Latin
School
Chicago, IL Romans  
Blue, Orange
19381966--
Chicago University
High School
Chicago, IL Maroons  
Maroon, White
193820092A-
Concordia
High School
River Forest, IL Cougars  
Maroon, Gold
19382009--
Luther North
High School
Chicago, IL Wildcats  
Blue, Gold
195320091A2A
Luther South
High School
Chicago, IL Braves  
Blue, Gold
195320091A2A
Elgin
Academy
Elgin, IL Hilltoppers  
Orange, Black
19541966--
Glennwood
School for boys
Glenwood, IL Wildcats  
Blue, Gold
19541966--
North Shore
Country Day School
Winnetka, IL Raiders  
Purple, White
19541966--
Morgan Park
Academy
Chicago, IL Warriors  
Maroon, Ivory
19601966--
Little Flower
Academy
Chicago, IL Lancers  
Black, White
19711973--
Providence
High School
New Lenox, IL Celtics  
Kelly Green, White
19711995A3A
Aurora Central Catholic
High School
Aurora, IL Chargers  
Blue, Gold
19731997A3A
Nazareth
Academy
La Grange Park, IL Roadrunners   
Columbia Blue, White & Navy Blue
19802001A3A
Peru St. Bede
High School
Peru, IL Bruins  
Green, White
19951998A2A
St. Gregory
High School
Chicago, IL Greyhounds    
Red, White, Royal Blue, Gray
19952009A2A
Aurora Christian
High School
Aurora, IL Eagles   
Red, White, Gray
19982009A2A
Rockford Christian Life
High School
Rockford, IL Eagles  
Blue, Gray
20012009A2A
Rockford Christian
High School
Rockford, IL Royal Lions   
Royal Blue, Metallic Gold, Black
20012003A2A
Rockford Lutheran
High School
Rockford, IL Crusaders  
Purple, White
20012003A2A
Lake Forest
Academy
Lake Forest, IL Caxys  
Orange, Black
20032009A2A
Seton
Academy
South Holland, IL Sting   
Black, White, Gold
20052009A2A
Walther Lutheran
High School
Melrose Park, ILBroncosGreen, White19552009A2A

Sources:IHSA Conferences, [5] IHSA Coop Teams, [6] and IHSA Member Schools Directory [7]

Membership timeline

Private School League

Full members

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References

  1. "The Great Conferences". www.illinoishsglorydays.com. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. IHSA.org Enrollments
  3. "Records & History". www.ihsa.org.
  4. "Todd Seminary for Boys 1848-1954" (PDF). Woodstock Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  5. "Conferences & Affiliated Schools | Schools | IHSA". www.ihsa.org.
  6. "Cooperative Teams | School Directory | Schools | IHSA". www.ihsa.org.
  7. "School Directory | IHSA". www.ihsa.org.