Membership timeline
Full members
| Conference | IHSA |
|---|---|
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Region | Chicago metro area, Illinois |
The Independent School League (ISL) is an athletic conference comprising 10 private secondary schools in the Chicago metro area. All but one of the schools are also full members of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for most high school athletics and competitive activities in the state. The schools are all relatively small, most belonging to the smaller classes of competition offered by the IHSA.
| School | Location | Founded | Enrollment | Team Name | Colors | IHSA Classes 2/3/4 | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin Academy | Elgin | 1839 | 180 | Hilltoppers | A/1A/1A | [1] | |
| Francis W. Parker School | Chicago | 1901 | 944 | Colonels | A/1A/2A | [2] | |
| Lake Forest Academy | Lake Forest | 1857 | 435 | Caxys | [note 1] | [3] | |
| Latin School of Chicago | Chicago | 1888 | 1,175 | Romans | AA/1A/2A/3A | [4] | |
| Northridge Preparatory School | Niles | 1976 | 250 | Knights | A/1A/1A | [5] | |
| North Shore Country Day School | Winnetka | 1880 | 535 | Raiders | A/1A/2A | [6] | |
| Regina Dominican High School | Wilmette | 1958 | 508 | Panthers | A/1A/2A | [7] | |
| University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | Chicago | 1896 | 2,015 | Maroons | AA/2A/3A | [8] | |
| The Willows Academy | Des Plaines | 1974 | 250 | Eagles | A/1A/2A | [9] | |
| Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart | Lake Forest | 1858 | 145 | Wildcats | A/1A/2A | [10] |
The ISL was founded in 1967. [11] The league initially comprised eight teams: Chicago Lab, Elgin, Latin, Morgan Park, North Shore, Francis W. Parker, Harvard-St. George, and Glenwood.
Harvard-St. George closed in 1993, and Glenwood closed its high school in 1979. Lake Forest Academy left the ISL in 2008 and rejoined in 2021. [12] Regina Dominican High School joined in 2022. [13] Morgan Park Academy left the ISL in 2023. [14]
Elgin Academy is set to leave the conference in 2024, as the school is closing at the end of the 2023–24 school year. [15]
Full members
Elgin Academy is an independent, coeducational, college-preparatory school in Elgin, Illinois, United States. Elgin Academy is notable for many accomplishments, such as its Scholastic Bowl and ACES teams.
The DuPage Valley Conference (DVC) is an organization of six high schools in northeastern Illinois, representing seven communities in Chicago's suburbs. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School Association. The Conference, organized in 1975, exists primarily for inter-school athletic competition in 21 sports. There are also four non-athletic competitions in which DVC schools participate: Chess, Math competitions, Scholastic Bowl and Speech.
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.
The North Shore consists of many affluent suburbs north of Chicago, Illinois, bordering the shores of Lake Michigan. These communities fall within suburban Cook County and Lake County. The North Shore's membership is often a topic of debate, and it includes some Chicago suburbs which do not border Lake Michigan. However, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Highwood, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glencoe, Northbrook, Northfield, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Wilmette, Golf, Glenview, Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie, and Evanston, are generally considered to be the main constituents of the North Shore.
The Upstate Eight Conference is an organization of ten high schools in northeastern Illinois, representing ten communities in Chicago's suburbs. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School Association.
Libertyville High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Libertyville, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue and Dawes Street, on the shore of Butler Lake, it is part of Community High School District 128, which also includes Vernon Hills High School.
The North Suburban Conference (NSC) is an extra-curricular conference of eight high schools located in Lake County, Illinois, in the northern suburbs of Chicago. All of the schools are members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).
Regina Dominican is a college preparatory Catholic school for girls grades 9-12, located in Wilmette, Illinois.
Neal F. Simeon Career Academy, locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational high school located in the Chatham area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Simeon is a part of the Chicago Public Schools district. Opened in 1949, The school is named for African-American Chicago Public Schools educator and administrator Neal Ferdinand Simeon.
The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC-10) is a high school athletic conference consisting of nine high public schools and one Catholic school in Illinois' Boone, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties. Member schools are also full members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), and are among the larger schools in that area, all competing in Class AA of IHSA competitions.
William H. Wells Community Academy High School is public 4-year high school located in the West Town neighborhood on the Near Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Wells is a part of the Chicago Public Schools system. Wells serves grades 9 through 12. Wells is named after former superintendent of Chicago Public Schools William H. Wells.
The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some of the schools are coeducational institutions, the conference only supports athletics for male teams.
Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart is a private, Roman Catholic girls' high school in Lake Forest, Illinois, north of Chicago. Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, it is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago but is run by lay staff with several Sisters sitting on the Board of Trustees.
John Marshall Metropolitan High School is a public 4–year high school located in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1895, Marshall is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Marshall is named in honor of John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall serves the students of the East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, North Lawndale and Humboldt Park neighborhoods.
The Mid-Suburban League (MSL) is an Illinois High School Association recognized high school extra-curricular league which includes 12 schools located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The conference is split up into two divisions for all interscholastic activities. The primary criteria for the separate divisions is geography, with the schools in the West Division being located west of IL Route 53 and the schools of the East Division being east of it. However, the schools of the western division are also larger than the schools of the eastern division.
Morgan Park High School is a 4-year public high school and middle school located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1916, Morgan Park is a part of the Chicago Public Schools district. Morgan Park is located at the intersection of 111th Street and Vincennes Avenue.
The East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC) is an athletic conference consisting of nine Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The conference became independent in 1974.
Edward Tilden Career Community Academy High School is a public 4–year high school bordered between the Canaryville and Fuller Park neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in Chicago as Lake High School in 1889, Tilden is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district.
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.
The Northeastern Athletic Conference is a high school conference in northeast and north central Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference comprises 3 small public high schools and 9 small private school, with enrollments between 19 and 850 students in Cook, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, McHenry, and Winnebago counties.
Marty McCarty, North Shore Country Day, winner of the last year's Private School league White division, which this year is competing in the newly formed Independent School league ...