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.

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.

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.

School Location Mascot Colors Year Joined Year Left IHSA Classes A/AAIHSA.org Enrollments IHSA Football Class Chicago ChristianHigh School Palos Heights, IL Knights Purple, Gold 1930 2003 2A 4A Chicago LutherInstitute Chicago, IL Wildcats Blue, Gold 1930 1953 - - Wheaton Academy West Chicago, IL Warrior Maroon, White 193019842007 197119852009 3A 4A Chicago HarvardSchool Chicago, IL Hurricanes Black, Gold 1935 1962 - - Chicago NorthPark Academy Chicago, IL Vikings Royal Blue, Gold 1935 1969 - - Francis W. ParkerHigh School Chicago, IL Colonels Blue, White 1936 1966 - - Woodstock ToddSeminary Woodstock, IL Red Raiders Red, White 1936 1954 - - Chicago LatinSchool Chicago, IL Romans Blue, Orange 1938 1966 - - Chicago UniversityHigh School Chicago, IL Maroons Maroon, White 1938 2009 2A -ConcordiaHigh School River Forest, IL Cougars Maroon, Gold 1938 2009 - - Luther NorthHigh School Chicago, IL Wildcats Blue, Gold 1953 2009 1A 2A Luther SouthHigh School Chicago, IL Braves Blue, Gold 1953 2009 1A 2A ElginAcademy Elgin, IL Hilltoppers Orange, Black 1954 1966 - - GlennwoodSchool for boys Glenwood, IL Wildcats Blue, Gold 1954 1966 - - North ShoreCountry Day School Winnetka, IL Raiders Purple, White 1954 1966 - - Morgan ParkAcademy Chicago, IL Warriors Maroon, Ivory 1960 1966 - - Little FlowerAcademy Chicago, IL Lancers Black, White 1971 1973 - - ProvidenceHigh School New Lenox, IL Celtics Kelly Green, White 1971 1995 A 3A Aurora Central CatholicHigh School Aurora, IL Chargers Blue, Gold 1973 1997 A 3A NazarethAcademy La Grange Park, IL Roadrunners Columbia Blue, White & Navy Blue 1980 2001 A 3A Peru St. BedeHigh School Peru, IL Bruins Green, White 1995 1998 A 2A St. GregoryHigh School Chicago, IL Greyhounds Red, White, Royal Blue, Gray 1995 2009 A 2A Aurora ChristianHigh School Aurora, IL Eagles Red, White, Gray 1998 2009 A 2A Rockford Christian LifeHigh School Rockford, IL Eagles Blue, Gray 2001 2009 A 2A Rockford ChristianHigh School Rockford, IL Royal Lions Royal Blue, Metallic Gold, Black 2001 2003 A 2A Rockford LutheranHigh School Rockford, IL Crusaders Purple, White 2001 2003 A 2A Lake ForestAcademy Lake Forest, IL Caxys Orange, Black 2003 2009 A 2A SetonAcademy South Holland, IL Sting Black, White, Gold 2005 2009 A 2AWalther LutheranHigh SchoolMelrose Park, ILBroncosGreen, White19552009A2A Sources:IHSA Conferences, IHSA Coop Teams, and IHSA Member Schools Directory

Membership timeline

References

External links