| Independent School League | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Data | |||
| Classification | New England Prep School Athletic Conference | ||
| Established | 1948 | ||
| Members | 16 | ||
| Region | New England | ||
| Sports fielded | 18 | ||
| Locations | |||
The Independent School League (ISL) is composed of sixteen New England preparatory schools that compete athletically and academically. Founded in 1948, the ISL's sixteen member compete in eighteen sports in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC). The Independent School League is the oldest Independent School athletic association in the United States.
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Charter members of the Private School League were Belmont Hill, Brooks, Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N), The Governor's Academy, Milton Academy, Noble & Greenough, St. Mark's, and Thayer. Like the Ivy League, the ISL began as a loose affiliation to promote football among academically rigorous, Northeastern schools; however, administrators formalized the league during 1948.
In 1968 Middlesex had joined and in 1972 Groton had replaced Tabor. – both private day schools in the Boston area – joined in 1973. In 1974 Roxbury Latin was added. The league changed its name to the 'Independent School League' that same year.
St. Paul's, Lawrence Academy, and St. George's – all private boarding schools – joined during the mid-1970s.
| School | Mascot | Location | Founded | Entered ISL | Grades | Number of Students | Varsity Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont Hill School | No Mascot (Sextant is school symbol) | Belmont, MA | 1923 | 1948 | 7-12 | 420 Boys | 16 |
| Brooks School | Bishops | North Andover, MA | 1926 | 1948 | 9-12 | 354 | 21 |
| Buckingham Browne & Nichols | Knights | Cambridge, MA | 1883 | 1948 | pre-K-12 | 997 | 16 |
| Governor's Academy | Governors | Byfield, MA | 1763 | 1948 | 9-12 | 376 | 20 |
| Groton School | Zebras | Groton, MA | 1884 | 1972 | 8-12 | 352 | 19 |
| Lawrence Academy at Groton | Spartans | Groton, MA | 1793 | 1973 | 9-12 | 375 | 22 |
| Middlesex School | Zebras | Concord, MA | 1901 | 1968 | 9-12 | 350 | 24 |
| Milton Academy | Mustangs | Milton, MA | 1798 | 1948 | K-12 | 680 | 25 |
| Noble and Greenough School | Bulldogs | Dedham, MA | 1866 | 1948 | 7-12 | 525 | 25 |
| Rivers School | Red Wings | Weston, MA | 1915 | 1973 | 6-12 | 450 | 16 |
| Roxbury Latin School | Foxes | West Roxbury, MA | 1645 | 1974 | 7-12 | 290 Boys | 10 |
| St. George's School | Dragons | Middletown, RI | 1896 | 1981 | 9-12 | 345 | 24 |
| St. Mark's School | Lions | Southborough, MA | 1865 | 1948 | 9-12 | 325 | 22 |
| St. Paul's School | Pelicans (teams are cheered for as "Big Red") | Concord, NH | 1856 | 1973 | 9-12 | 533 | 17 |
| St. Sebastian's School | Arrows | Needham, MA | 1941 | 1973 | 7-12 | 350 Boys | 11 |
| Thayer Academy | Tigers | Braintree, MA | 1877 | 1948 | 6-12 | 668 | 23 |
ISL schools are noted for high tuition, academic excellence, superior college placement, and in many cases, storied histories. For example, the ISL features two of the United States' ten wealthiest boarding schools, St. Paul's and Groton. Also, the ISL features two of the United States' ten oldest boarding schools, Governor's and Lawrence, and the oldest school in continuous existence in North America, Roxbury Latin. The ISL also boasts the only day school to make the 2006 Forbes Most Expensive Private High Schools list: The Buckingham Browne and Nichols School. Collectively, these New England schools are sometimes termed St. Grottlesex. The term is a blend, using the St. part of St. Paul's, part of Groton School, combined with part of Middlesex.
Member schools compete in the following sports:
For some sports, such as ice hockey, the ISL is divided into two divisions: the Keller and the Eberhart:
| Keller Division | Eberhart Division |
|---|---|
| BB&N | Brooks |
| Belmont Hill | Groton |
| Governor's | Middlesex |
| Lawrence | Rivers |
| Milton | Roxbury Latin |
| Nobles | St. George's |
| St. Paul's | St. Mark's |
| St. Sebastian's | |
| Thayer |
In 1948 eight local private schools banded together to form one of the first high school soccer leagues in the area. A number of the schools had been competing informally and a structured league was desirable. Full round robin play was not achieved until 1952 but has been a constant feature since that year. The original eight schools included Belmont Hill, Brooks, Browne & Nichols, Governor Dummer, Milton, Nobles, St. Mark's, and Tabor.
In 1948 a championship cup was procured and was named in honor of Richard Gummere, a longtime teacher and coach at both Browne & Nichols and Haverford College; the Gummere Cup is undoubtedly one of the oldest secondary school soccer trophies in the country. In 1968 Middlesex joined the group and in 1971 Roxbury Latin competed before joining permanently in 1974. 1972 saw Tabor leave the league and Groton join. That brought the league to ten schools where it remained until 1984. The original Private School League had expanded during this time and had grown into the 16 school Independent School League. In order to include the six ISL schools not in Gummere Cup play at the time (Lawrence, Rivers, St. George's, St. Paul's, St. Sebastian's, and Thayer) the Athletic Directors created a separate ISL soccer league in 1980. Because full round robin play was not possible at that time, North and South Divisions, each with eight schools, were established. A Championship Final was held on the Wednesday following the regular season. The Founder's Cup was awarded to the winning school.
Both the Gummere Cup and ISL competitions operated simultaneously from 1980 through 1983. Due to the ban on post season league-sponsored play no finals were held in 1982 and 1983. In 1984, a full round robin schedule was adopted and all sixteen schools began competing for the Gummere Cup. The Founder's Cup is now awarded to the second placed team.
ISL lacrosse has sent many players to top division one (D1) lacrosse universities, and has had numerous All-Americans. The Governors Academy, and Nobles have been at the top of the ISL for lacrosse in recent years.
Current ISL Champions: Roxbury Latin. Undefeated in 2011
Boys Leaders from 2007
Belmont Hill (11-1) BB&N (10-1) Thayer (10-2) Rox. Latin (8-3) Groton (8-5) Brooks (8-7) Nobles (6-6) St. Pauls (6-6)
Girls Leaders form 2007
Milton Academy, BB&N, Nobles, St. George's / Groton (tied for fourth) Thayer, Brooks
Many ISL schools participate in girls ice hockey. Governors's Academy, BB&N and Nobles have been the leaders the past decades. The ISL has sent many women to D1 schools and to the Olympics.
BB&N is the 2010 ISL champion after completing the first undefeated season (20-0) in school history. BB&N is now back to back ISL champions. Belmont HIll,Lawrence Academy, St. Sebs, Milton Academy, and Roxbury Latin are also consistently at the top of the league. In 2011, Lawrence Academy capped of an undefeated ISL season(16-0,18-2 Overall) by defeating Rivers 13-2 and winning the league title.
Only a few ISL schools participate in crew, but among those include: Belmont Hill, BB&N, Brooks, Groton, Middlesex, Nobles, Thayer, and St. Mark's. St. Paul's races eight-man boats, and does not compete with the other ISL schools in head-to-head regattas. The regular season ends with the NEIRA regatta, with the top two boats entered into the National Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio. Almost every year, a New England boat wins the national title. Some perennially strong crews include BB&N, Groton, Nobles, St. Paul's, and Brooks, but Belmont Hill has been the most dominant program of late, winning eight consecutive New England Championships (2003–2010) and four National Championships (2003, 2006, 2007, 2010) with its first boat. St. Paul's is noted to have produced some of the best crew eights in high school leagues.
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