Brophy College Preparatory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Motto: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam | |
| President | Rev. Edward A. Reese, S.J. |
| Principal | Bob Ryan |
| School type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Jesuit (Roman Catholic) |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Enrollment | about 1,380 male students |
| Faculty | 124 |
| Campus surroundings | Urban |
| Mascot | Bronco |
Brophy College Preparatory is a Jesuit high school located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is all-male, enrolling 1,200 students. The school is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious secondary institutions in Arizona and the West coast. The Arizona Republic has written that Brophy considers itself "the Stanford of high schools." The school's web site states that Brophy historically has produced more National Merit finalists and semifinalists than any other school in Arizona and the United States, and reports that 97 percent of Brophy's graduates attend four-year institutions[1].
The school has three campuses: the main academic campus in north-central Phoenix, a retreat campus called Manresa near Sedona, and a sports campus in east Phoenix. Brophy is entirely self-sufficient, with no diocesan or government financial assistance.
Contents |
[edit] History
The school was founded in 1928 by Mrs. William Henry Brophy as a Jesuit Catholic all-male high school. The Regis hall building (re-named Frank C. Brophy Jr. Hall in 2006), Jesuit Residence and the Chapel were completed in 1928, and the school began operating that same year as a college and high school. The school operated successfully for a year but the subsequent Great Depression put a major financial strain on the institution, forcing it to close in 1935. Most of the male students whom previously attended Brophy transferred to another local Catholic high school, St. Mary's, which had become an all-girls school once Brophy opened. The boys brought their athletic gear from Brophy with them to St. Mary's, causing St. Mary's to change its colors from red and white to green and white, the previous Brophy colors. In 1952, 17 years after its closing, Brophy College Preparatory reopened exclusively as a high school and took St. Mary's old colors of red and white. Brophy expanded its downtown Phoenix campus by adding Loyola Hall (1959), Robson Gymnasium (1967), Charles Keating Hall and the Steele Library (1986). In recent years Brophy's president has been able to raise a lot of capital through the major gifts campaign which has allowed for the construction of the Information Commons (2001), the Eller Fine Arts Center(2003), the Piper Center for Math and Science (2005), and the Harper Great Hall (2006). The Ethel and Kemper Marley Information Commons replaced the Steele Library as the information source on campus
In November of 2002, Brophy acquired the former Phoenix Swim Club for use as a sports campus. It is now called The Dottie Boreyko/Brophy Sports Campus.The facilities of this 10 acre campus include two outdoor swimming pools (one of them Olympic and equipped with an underwater viewing room),a 400 meter training track, a soccer field, running track and locker rooms[2]. Plans are currently under way to renovate the campus to conform to the architectural style that may be found on their main academic campus[3].
[edit] Academics
Brophy Prep's courses rely on a combination of liberal arts principles and Roman Catholic theology. Honors and Advanced Placement sections exist in each of the curricular disciplines. Brophy offers 22 Advanced Placement subjects. Brophy's average SAT is a 1209 (new SAT approximation: 1813.5). Admissions are selective and are based on grades, an entrance exam, essays, and a required interview. Students may also take classes from Xavier College Preparatory, a Catholic girls' college preparatory that is adjacent to Brophy.
[edit] Tablet Program
In the 2006 school year, Brophy rolled out the PC Tablet program for all incoming Freshman. This was a mandatory program, that the incoming Freshman had to buy a Toshiba Tablet PC. This tablet allowed all the student books to be kept in one place and thus the complaints about having to carry around books was fixed. The whole campus was retrofitted with Wi-fi. Although there were some complications in the beginning, they eventually was corrected and it is running smoothly as of this moment. The response to this program has been over-whelming popular and has also led to higher grades among the Freshmen. The school administration is trying to get to a paper free campus, thus they plan on rolling out the program next year.
[edit] Athletics
Brophy has 26 teams in 11 sports competing in Arizona's 5A-DI. The swim team is considered one of the best in the nation and has won 26 out of the last 27 state titles in addition to producing several Olympic medalists. The 2004-05 Brophy swim team won the National High School Championship. Brophy also has highly regarded tennis, golf, baseball, basketball, and football programs, with the latter winning the state championship in 2005. The 2005 football team finished ranked 3rd in the west and 21st in the nation by USA Today and ranked 23rd in the country by Sports Illustrated. The baseball and volleyball programs also took their state championships respectively in 2006.
[edit] Fight Song
March Men of Brophy, down the field,
Advance our colors bright!
Fight Men of Brophy, never yield,
Extol the Red and White!
Keep Brophy's colors proud and strong
And praise the Bronco name!
We'll fight tonight for victory,
Go Broncos, win this game!
[edit] Famous Alumni/Former Students
- Mark Alarie (1982) - Former Duke University and National Basketball Association player
- Keith Blanchard (1984) - Maxim (magazine) Editor-in-Chief
- Peter Cervelli (1985) - Volcanologist
- Michael Collier (1968) - Science writer and photographer
- Chris Cummiskey (1983) - Arizona legislator and government official
- Scott Garlick (1990) - Professional soccer player
- Gary Hall Jr. (1994) - Olympic swimmer
- Klete Keller - Olympic swimmer (attended but did not graduate)
- Cris Kirkwood - founding member of the Meat Puppets, along with brother Curt
- Curt Kirkwood - founding member of the Meat Puppets, along with brother Cris
- Bob Kohrs (1972) - Former linebacker and defensive for the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Dick Mahoney (1969) - Political scientist and writer, former Arizona Secretary of State
- Robert H. Miller (1968) - Nature/travel writer
- Ted Purdy (1992) - Professional golfer
- Michael D. Maloney (2006) - Electronic musician; new member of European pop group Daft Punk.
- Stephen J. Pyne (1967) - Natural historian and recipient of the MacArthur "genius award", a Fulbright Fellowship, and two National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships
- Edward "Joe" Shoen (1967) - Chairman and CEO of Amerco (parent of U-Haul, Inc.)
- Mark Shoen (1969) - President of U-Haul
- John Simons (1979) - Olympic swimmer
- Robert B. Wallace (1968) - Former Rolling Stone executive editor, ABC News Senior Producer, and St. Martin's Press chief
- Marshall Flores - Author, How to get into the College of your Dreams (attended but did not graduate)
- Evan Whitfield (1994) - Professional soccer player
- Steve Gentry (1981) - Sumo Wrestler and Nascar driver
- Paul Lo Duca - Professional baseball player (attended but did not graduate)
- Justin Speier - Professional baseball player
