Five Teams for Suburban Christian Conference Join for Football and Soccer
Catholic League Rivals Gordon Tech and St. Ignatius in 2013
The Chicago Catholic League announced yesterday that five schools from the now defunct Suburban Christian Conference—Aurora Christian, Marian Central Catholic, Marmion Academy, Montini Catholic and St. Francis of Wheaton—will join the CCL for football and soccer only starting with the 2014-2015 seasons. The Catholic League will expand from 15 to 20 schools. The five new teams will form a fourth division. The new Green Division will join the existing Blue, White and Red divisions. The divisions are roughly divided by enrollment and program strength. The Blue Division consists of some of the strongest football programs in the state of Illinois, Loyola, Mt. Carmel, St. Rita, Providence and Brother Rice, and will remain as is.
The White Division will be slightly different with Fenwick moving to the new Green Division. Aurora Christian from the Suburban Christian Conference will join the White Division. The new Green Division will consist of Suburban Christian Conference converts Marian Central Catholic, Marmion Academy, Montini Catholic and St. Francis of Wheaton plus Fenwick from the CCL’s White Division.
The Red Division, which includes the City’s only northside Catholic League member, Gordon Tech College Prep, (Loyola Academy is in Wilmette), will remain unchanged.
The divisional alignments for soccer have yet to be determined but will be based on geography and parity.
The 100 year old Chicago Catholic League is considered by most observers as one of the strongest, if not the strongest football conference in the state. It will only be stronger with the addition of the new schools. Three of the eight reigning state champions will be from the CCL. The CCL includes the reigning state 8A football champion, Mt. Carmel and semi-finalist Loyola Academy. The CCL adds two more reigning state champions, Montini in 5A and Aurora Christian in 3A.
Although none of the new teams will join the Red Division, the impact on Gordon Tech will be felt immediately. According to Gordon Tech’s Athletic Director Paul Chabura, the addition of a game against a Green Division team will fill an existing week eight hole in GT’s schedule. The new scheduling format will have CCL teams play four games against teams in their division and three games against one team from each of the other divisions, plus two non-conference games against during the first two weeks of the season. By the 2014 season Gordon will probably schedule one of the new teams.
Catholic League president and St. Ignatius athletic director, Jim Prunty told the Bulldog that the addition Aurora Christian, a non-denominational Christian school, into the “Catholic” League will not be an issue. The principals of the CCL member schools have signed off on adding Aurora Christian. The CCL added Lake Forest Academy, a private non-religious school, last year to the Red Division.
