St. Ignatius College Preparatory, colloquially referred to by Bay Area locals as SI, is a private, Catholic preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition, serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1855. Located in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, in the Sunset District of San Francisco, St. Ignatius is one of the oldest secondary schools in the U.S. state of California.
St. Ignatius was founded as a one-room schoolhouse on Market Street by Anthony Maraschi, a Jesuit priest, just after the California Gold Rush in 1855. Maraschi paid $11,000 for the property which was to become the original church and schoolhouse. The church opened on July 15, 1855, and three months later, on October 15, the school opened its doors to its first students.
SI was the high school division of what later became the University of San Francisco, but it has since split from the university and changed locations five times due to the growth of the student body and natural disaster. In the 1860s, the school built a new site, adjacent to the first, on Market Street in downtown San Francisco. In 1880, SI moved its campus to a location on Van Ness Avenue in the heart of San Francisco, and by 1883, SI had become the largest Jesuit school in the nation.[4]
Within 26 years of the relocation, however, St. Ignatius would be completely destroyed. Though the school would survive the tremors of the 1906 earthquake with only moderate damage, the subsequent fires destroyed the school and church, forcing SI to find a new location near Golden Gate Park, a hastily constructed "temporary" wooden building, affectionately known as the "Shirt Factory", which housed the school from 1906 to 1929.[4]
In 1927, the high school was separated from the university, becoming St. Ignatius High School. Two years later, SI relocated its campus once more, this time to Stanyan Street, where it remained for 40 years. In the fall of 1969, Father Harry Carlin moved SI to its current Sunset District campus, whereupon the current name, St. Ignatius College Preparatory, was adopted.[5]
Though founded as an all-boys school, SI became coeducational in 1989 and is now home to over 1,500 male and female students. The school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2005.[4]
The school has 66 athletic teams with over 70% of students participating. The Wildcats generally participate in the Western Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) in the Central Coast Section (CCS) of California, though for some sports, the teams belong to other leagues.[citation needed]
The men's rowing team of St. Ignatius has seen the most national success out of any athletic program at the school, as it has won a total of three US Rowing Youth National Championships in 1997, 2005, and 2006.[7] In addition, the crew competed in the Henley Royal Regatta in England, where it won the prestigeous Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 2006.[8] More recently, the varsity men's team placed 4th in the SRAA National Championship under the Boys Junior 8+ category in 2022, and won the event in 2024.[9] The team has also recently returned to Youth Nationals in 2023 and 2024, competing in the Men's U16 8+ in the former, and the Men's U17 8+ and Women's U17 8+ in the latter.
The SI men's lacrosse team won the state championship[when?] and was ranked nationally in 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2022. The Cats have won the WCAL Championship 14 years in a row. In 2017 the Wildcats finished ranked number 5 nationally with a 19–2 record, beating number 6 ranked Chaminade, NY and number 14 ranked Gonzaga, D.C. St. Ignatius has a powerhouse lacrosse program, known nationwide for sending student-athletes to Ivy League and ACC schools.[10]
The SI women's lacrosse team has historically seen success as well, winning the WCAL title for five years straight from 1997 to 2001.[11] The team also won CCS in 2022 and ended the season as the 12th best in the country.[12]
The SI men's soccer team has been nationally ranked by ESPN. The boys won the WCAL championship in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the CCS championship in 2009, 2017, and 2018. They won the inaugural Northern California championship in 2018 and were ranked number 2 nationally to end the season.[13]
The SI football team were WCAL champions in 1967, 2006, and 2019, as well as CCS Division III champions in 2006 and 2011. In 2012 SI placed first in the WCAL and competed in the CCS Division I playoffs. In 2024 SI were co-WCAL champions and CCS Open division champions. [citation needed]
The SI men's swim team placed 3rd in CCS Div I and the 200 Freestyle relay team broke the CCS Record in prelims and then was ranked 10th nationally in the All-American rankings in 2014. In 2015, the men placed 4th in CCS Div I with a CCS championship in the 200 Freestyle, and also placed 6th at the Inaugural California State Championship. In 2017, the men placed 6th in CCS Div I with a CCS championship in the 200 Freestyle relay.[14]
The SI women's swim team has seen much success in the WCAL Championship in recent years, with the varsity team winning in 2007 and 2019 and the junior varsity team winning in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In both 2007 and 2008, the women placed 4th in CCS Div I with a CCS championship in the 200 Medley relay. In 2022, the women placed first in CCS Div I, with CCS Championships in the 200 Medley relay, 100 Butterfly, and 200 Freestyle relay, with the 200 Medley and 200 Freestyle relay teams qualifying for the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) All American.[14]
The SI men's and women's cross country teams recently won the 2019 CCS Division III Championship, while the men's water polo team won the Division II Championship, as well as a Northern California Championship.
St. Ignatius' traditional rival is Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, also located in San Francisco. The SI–SHC rivalry began with a rugby game on St. Patrick's Day in 1893.[15] SI and SHC compete against each other in football, basketball, baseball, and volleyball for the Bruce-Mahoney Trophy, which is named after naval airman, Bill Bruce '35 of St. Ignatius, and Jerry Mahoney of Sacred Heart Cathedral, both alumni who died in World War II. All-time, SI has dominated over SHC, with a winning record of 54-20-3 for the trophy.[15]
Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It serves as the home of San Francisco City FC of USL League Two.
Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-boys, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded on May 8, 1851, it is the oldest Jesuit secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River.
Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association and the largest Jesuit high school in America, with over 2,000 students from more than 80 different zip codes throughout the Chicago area. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1909.
St. Francis High School is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA. Founded in 1946 by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, St. Francis High School is a Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades 9-12 and is fully accredited by WASC and WCEA. St. Francis High School of La Canada-Flintridge, a non-profit religious corporation, is operated by the Board of Directors under the sponsorship of the Capuchin Franciscan Order of the Western America Province.
The West Catholic Athletic League or WCAL is a highly competitive high school athletic conference in the Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. The boys division is made up of seven Catholic schools and one nondenominational Christian school in the Western and Southern portions of the San Francisco Bay Area. The girls division includes all of the co-ed schools in the WCAL, along with Presentation High School. Notre Dame-Belmont, Sacred Heart Preparatory-Atherton, and the Menlo School compete in select WCAL sports, but mainly partake in the West Bay Athletic League.
Crenshaw High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located on 11th Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SHC, is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the oldest Catholic secondary school and was the first co-ed Catholic high school in San Francisco.
Chaminade College Preparatory, formerly Chaminade High School for Boys, is a private Catholic preparatory school with two campuses in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California.
Archbishop Riordan High School is a diocesan, co-ed Catholic high school established by the Society of Mary in San Francisco, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It opened in fall 1949 as Riordan High School, named after Archbishop Patrick William Riordan, the second Archbishop of San Francisco; "Archbishop" was officially added to its name in 1990.
Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington, is a private, Catholic high school in the Inland Northwest. Colloquially nicknamed "G-Prep", the Jesuit school has been recognized for its college preparation education and community service.
Thomas Sean McBreen is an American former freestyle swimmer for the University of Southern California and a 1972 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. After receiving a bachelors and medical degree from USC, he would work as a physician specializing in family medicine in Ventura, California.
Rene Anthony Herrerias is an American basketball coach. He served as head coach at University of California, Berkeley from 1960 to 1968.
The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco (USF). The Dons compete in NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC), of which USF is a charter member.
Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton is a private, Roman Catholic, co-educational school in Atherton, California, United States. It was established in 1898 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and is governed by an independent board of trustees.
Archbishop Stepinac High School is an American all-boys' Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York.
Gilroy High School is a co-educational public school located in Gilroy, California, that serves the city of Gilroy. A part of the Gilroy Unified School District, is one of two public comprehensive high schools in the city and has an approximate enrollment of 1,500 students.
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a 55-acre (22 ha) setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hilltop" and is split into two sections within a block of each other. Part of the main campus is located on Lone Mountain, one of San Francisco's major geographical features. Its close historical ties with the City and County of San Francisco are reflected in the university's traditional motto, Pro Urbe et Universitate.
The Central Coast Section (CCS) is the governing body of public and private high school athletics in the portion of California encompassing San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Monterey County, San Benito County, Santa Cruz County and a few private schools in San Francisco. It is one of ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
Matthew Miller Dickerson is an American professional football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA. He has also played for the Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders.
The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals are the athletic teams that represent California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) since the 1991–92 academic year. The Kingsmen and Regals previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 1986–87 to 1988–89; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1990–91.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
