Private School League
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. 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 whom joined the Suburban Christian Conference, Metro Suburban Conference, Northeastern Athletic Conference, or Independent School League.
All-Time Membership
The Private School League had 28 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/AA | IHSA Football Class |
| 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 | 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 |
Sources:IHSA Conferences, IHSA Coop Teams, and IHSA Member Schools Directory
Membership timeline
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id:line value:pink
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a full member in a football coop
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the Three-Rivers Conference
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the NWIC
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the Mid Northern Conference
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bar:1 color:Full from:1930 till:2003 text:Chicago Christian High School
bar:2 color:Full from:1930 till:1953 text:Chicago Luther Institute
bar:3 color:Full from:1930 till:1971 text:Wheaton Academy
bar:3 color:Full from:1984 till:1985 text:
bar:3 color:Full from:2007 till:2009 text:
bar:4 color:Full from:1930 till:1939 text:Chicago Central YMCA
bar:5 color:Full from:1930 till:1931 text:Pullman Free School of Manual Training in Chicago
bar:6 color:Full from:1935 till:1962 text:Chicago Harvard School
bar:7 color:Full from:1935 till:1969 text:Chicago North Park Academy
bar:8 color:Full from:1936 till:1966 text:Francis W. Parker School
bar:9 color:Full from:1936 till:1954 text:Woodstock Todd Seminary
bar:10 color:Full from:1938 till:1966 text:Chicago Latin School
bar:11 color:Full from:1938 till:2009 text:Chicago University High School
bar:12 color:Full from:1938 till:2009 text:Concordia
bar:13 color:Full from:1953 till:2009 text:Chicago Luther North
bar:14 color:Full from:1953 till:2009 text:Chicago Luther South
bar:15 color:Full from:1954 till:1966 text:Elgin Academy
bar:16 color:Full from:1954 till:1966 text:Glenwood School
bar:17 color:Full from:1954 till:1966 text:North Shore Country Day
bar:18 color:Full from:1960 till:1966 text:Morgan Park Academy
bar:19 color:Full from:1971 till:1973 text:Little Flower Academy
bar:20 color:Full from:1971 till:1995 text:Providence Catholic High School
bar:21 color:Full from:1973 till:1997 text:Aurora Central Catholic
bar:22 color:Full from:1980 till:2001 text:Nazareth Academy
bar:23 color:Full from:1995 till:1998 text:Peru St. Bede
bar:24 color:Full from:1995 till:2009 text:St. Gregory
bar:25 color:Full from:1998 till:2009 text:Aurora Christian High School
bar:26 color:Full from:2001 till:2009 text:Rockford Christian Life High School
bar:27 color:Full from:2001 till:2003 text:Rockford Christian High School
bar:28 color:Full from:2001 till:2003 text:Rockford Lutheran High School
bar:29 color:Full from:2003 till:2009 text:Lake Forest Academy
bar:30 color:Full from:2005 till:2009 text:Seton Academy
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text:^"Private School League Membership History"
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