IHSA should have two separate leagues for both private and public. Here’s why:

The PR community knows that our school’s athletic teams participate in the IHSA (Illinois High School Association), and in the IHSA, we are the Fox Valley Conference, including schools in our district like Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake Central & South, along with non-district schools such as McHenry, Jacobs, Hampshire, Huntley, Dundee-Crown, and Burlington Central.

All of the schools in the Fox Valley Conference are public schools. However, in the IHSA, there are over 800 schools. Prairie Ridge plays several teams a year across all sports that are a “private” school. 

The most obvious example of unfairness in the system came during the 2023-2024 football season when we played our only playoff game against Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, and they are a private school. Then Nazareth went on to play Joliet Catholic Academy in the IHSA Championship last November, effectively eliminating public schools’ chance at a championship. 

Having both private schools and public schools in the IHSA poses an unfair advantage for private schools and the IHSA should have two separate leagues for both private and public. I’m not the only one who thinks so. 

Apparently, this has been thought of numerous times, including just last year after the 2023-2024 football season ended, when the Chicago Sun Times published the article, “Should public and private high schools have separate state football tournaments?” in which the writer pointed out that they “believe it is only a matter of time before a proposal to split the playoffs into two separate tournaments is put before Illinois high schools for a vote.”

Private high schools could recruit their players “unofficially.” They can offer scholarships or deducted tuition for families to bring their children to play sports at their schools, while in public schools, you have to live within the school boundaries. A great example of this I found in our area is that if you live in Crystal Lake and attend a public high school, you will go to one of the four high schools in the district. But you could also attend Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, as long as you paid the tuition and got a ride to and from school. This provides an unfair advantage to all private schools, and they get the best athletes on their teams. 

When the PR varsity lacrosse team was preparing for a game against Lake Forest Academy, our coach warned us that most of the lacrosse players are also hockey athletes and that Lake Forest Academy policy is that students must commit to playing sports in order to attend. Their Athletics – Lake Forest Academy website very clearly states: “Freshmen and sophomores are required to participate in the athletic program for three seasons per year (fall, winter, and spring). Juniors and seniors must participate in at least two seasons and are encouraged to participate in the third.” So it is very clear to me that these private schools are looking specifically for athletes in their schools and it’s unfair to the public high school athletes around them. 

Another example is in winter sports: basketball. Back in February, during the IHSA basketball championships, I looked through some of the teams playing at our level, 3A, and found that most of the schools were private schools. Crystal Lake South faced off against DePaul College Prep, a private Catholic school based in Chicago, in the super-sectional game on March 4 and lost 51-31, after beating Kaneland, a public high school located 20 miles south of a FVC opponent, Hampshire, in the sectionals finals on March 1, 69-38! 

There were five private schools in the IHSA 3A basketball playoffs: Chicago Mt. Carmel, De La Salle, St. Patrick, DePaul College Prep, and Brother Rice, all private high schools from Chicago. Five private schools, seven public schools existed in the 3A playoffs. The winner? DePaul College Prep, who defeated Chicago Mt. Carmel, 49-41, both private schools, who had managed to eliminate seven public schools.

I interviewed former Prairie Ridge High School varsity football team head coach and current PR athletic director, Mr. Chris Schremp, on April 30, 2024, and some of the important things I wanted to outline from his 22 years of coaching PR football, was the confirmation that private schools have the ability to recruit players, but not all do. 

In reference to our game against Nazareth Academy during the 23-24 football season, Schremp said that several of their players live in Chicago, and NA does recruit players. 

He attended St. Joseph’s High School in Westchester (closed in 2021), and they did recruit, but mainly for basketball. Basketball players were given a cut in their tuition. 

In regards to the IHSA separating public and private high schools, Mr. Schremp says that it “would be worth a discussion but I do not know if I would implement it without knowing the full effects.”

This Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, Prairie Ridge’s varsity football team is facing off against a Chicago Public School Goode STEM Academy here on our field at 1pm. Prairie Ridge students are eagerly anticipating this playoff match and we wish the best to our Wolves, as we start a new playoff season! Let’s go, Wolves!

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Featured Image photo credit: Farstead Fotos