Saint Paul City Conference
Encyclopedia
The Saint Paul City Conference is the conference for seven high schools in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota
. Much like the divisions in professional sports, the Saint Paul City Conference is one of many in the state that divides schools in close proximity into different conferences. It is the second oldest conference in the state behind the Minneapolis City Conference. The conference officially began on Friday, October 28, 1898 when Central High School
and Mechanic Arts High School played the first football
game between the schools.
, and in the 1920s Washington High School and Harding High School
joined the conference. In 1941 the smaller high schools of Marshall High School, Monroe High School, Murray High School and Wilson High School were added to the conference, bringing the number of schools in the conference to ten. In 1953, Marshall closed as a senior high and ten years later, Wilson would also close, with most of its students attending the newly builtHighland Park High School
. In 1976, one of its original members, Mechanic Arts, was closed, and in a span of two years from 1977 to 1978, Monroe, Washington, and Murray high schools would do the same. Most of the students from Washington and Murray were incorporated into Como Park Senior High School
.
, Derham Hall
, Hill-Murray
and St. Thomas Academy
. The decision to admit the schools had mixed support. The Saint Paul School Board approved the addition 7-0 while the St. Paul Athletic Council voted against the addition as well as the City Conference Coaches 95-4. In January 1986 the Saint Paul Athletic Council and the Public Schools coaches both voted to drop the four private schools and have a six team public school conference. Coaches were concerned that the private schools were winning a disproportionate amount of conference titles and had several unfair advantages. The private schools were able to attract students from throughout the Metro Area while the public schools were limited to neighborhood boundaries. In April of that year the Saint Paul School Board voted 5-1 to drop Hill-Murray and Saint Thomas Academy. The board acted on a March recommendation by the Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent and a two year study by the Saint Paul Public School Coaches' Association. Cretin High School and Derham Hall High School were allowed to remain because they were located within the Saint Paul City limits. The vote also let St. Bernard's, St. Agnes and St. Paul Academy join the Conference if the desired although they all were in different athletic conferences.
The decision allowed Saint Thomas Academy and Hill-Murray to remain for the 1986-1987 school year and guaranteed them a non-conference schedule during the 1987-1988 school year but forced them to find a new conference for the 1989-1990 school year or to schedule games as an independent. Hill-Murray and Saint Thomas Academy applied for entry into the Twin Cities Federation or Umbrella Conference, then a twenty three school athletic conference split into three distinct conferences. Hill-Murray was accepted into the North Suburban division while Saint Thomas Academy was rejected for not meeting the criteria of the original twenty three schools. Saint Thomas Academy applied twice to seven different conferences but was rejected by all of them including the Saint Paul Suburban Conference three times. A month after Hill-Murray and St. Thomas were dropped the Minnesota State Legislature held a legislative task force to discuss the Minnesota State High School League's role in placing school's in athletic conferences. The MSHSL stated that they did not want the authority to do so. However in the following year in the Spring of 1987 the Minnesota State Legislature passed a law requiring the Minnesota State High School League to place a high school in a conference if certain conditions were met. Eventually in the Spring of 1988, the Minnesota State High School league placed Saint Thomas Academy in the Saint Paul Suburban Conference, a member of the Twin Cities Federation
. In September 1996 the athletic directors of the seven public high schools voted to recommend the exclusion of Cretin when the new Arlington High School began competing in varsity sports for the 1997-1998 season. Whenever the public school coaches were polled about removing Cretin they were overwhelmingly in favor. They offered to allow Cretin play the conference as an independent and as a result not be eligible for Conference titles or awards. The following spring the Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent decided not to bring the issue to the School Board, which had the authority to drop Cretin. The Superintendent cited that the issue was too political to remove the only Catholic school in a heavily Catholic city. He also reasoned that it would be better to improve the competitive level of the public schools including the elementary and junior high sports teams. That plan would have cost seven figures and was quickly discarded. In the fall of 1998 Cretin expressed interest in joining a new athletic conference. In 1999 supporters of Humboldt High School asked the Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent to either remove Cretin or find a new conference for Humboldt to compete in because of the large gap in talent. A month later the public school's athletic directors agreed to support a proposal to remove Cretin for the 2000-2001 school year. Cretin applied at the same time to the now defunct St. Paul Suburban Conference.
In March 2002 Cretin began making steps away from the Saint Paul City Conference. The football team announced plans to compete as an independent beginning in the fall of 2002. The team later agreed to play the Classic Lake Conference
schools in 2003 and 2004 as an independent. After the 2002-2003 season, Cretin-Derham Hall left the conference and began competition in the Suburban East Conference. Nine conferences had rejected Cretin before the Minnesota State High School league placed Cretin in the Suburban East Conference. The Suburban East Conference and Cretin both appealed the decision but it was upheld. Cretin had wanted to be placed in the Classic Suburban Conference.
joined. Arlington did not compete at the varsity level in athletics until the fall of 1997.
s. One plan had a two division alignment with Saint Paul and Minneapolis schools in separate divisions. The ease at scheduling non-conference games with teams from the other division was seen as acceptable to Minneapolis officials. The proposal did not happen but talks returned the following year when the Saint Paul City Conference was planning to remove the four private schools from the conference. At that time the scheduling proposal was seen as being more restrictive and not favorable to Minneapolis administrators. Saint Paul ended the possibility several months later in April 1986 when the Saint Paul Public School Board voted to withdraw its invitation for the Minneapolis City Conference to join with the Saint Paul schools for a Twin Cities Conference.
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. Much like the divisions in professional sports, the Saint Paul City Conference is one of many in the state that divides schools in close proximity into different conferences. It is the second oldest conference in the state behind the Minneapolis City Conference. The conference officially began on Friday, October 28, 1898 when Central High School
Central High School (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
Central High School of Saint Paul, is the oldest high school in the state of Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866 in downtown Saint Paul, Central has educated many leaders in business, government, literature, arts, sciences, and education throughout the state of Minnesota and the United States...
and Mechanic Arts High School played the first football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game between the schools.
Members
| Institution | Location (Population) | Founded | Joined City Conference | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington Senior High School Arlington Senior High School Arlington Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is located north of Downtown Saint Paul on Rice Street, west of Interstate 35E in the city's North End neighborhood. The school enrolled 875 students in grades 9-12 and has the capacity to enroll 2,000... |
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1996 | 1997 | Public | 875 | Phoenix |
| Central High School Central High School (Saint Paul, Minnesota) Central High School of Saint Paul, is the oldest high school in the state of Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866 in downtown Saint Paul, Central has educated many leaders in business, government, literature, arts, sciences, and education throughout the state of Minnesota and the United States... |
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1866 | 1898 | Public | 2,124 | Minutemen |
| Como Park High School | Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1979 | 1979 | Public | 1,528 | Cougars |
| Harding Senior High School Harding Senior High School (St. Paul, Minnesota) Harding Senior High School is a public comprehensive high school located on the East Side of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The school is one of six high schools in the Saint Paul Public School District and is the largest high school in the city of Saint Paul with enrollment at approximately 2400... |
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1926 | 1926 | Public | 2,070 | Knights |
| Highland Park High School Highland Park High School (Minnesota) Highland Park Senior High School is a public secondary school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States serving grades 9 through 12. It is located in the Highland Park neighborhood.... |
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1964 | 1964 | Public | 1,469 | Scots |
| Humboldt Senior High School Humboldt Senior High School Humboldt Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota which serves students in grades 9-12. The school is the smallest of the seven high schools in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with an enrollment of 858 students. It is the only high school located on the... |
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1889 | 1898 | Public | 858 | Hawks (formerly the Indians) |
| Johnson Senior High School | Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1897 | 1898 | Public | 1,887 | Governors |
| Former member | Location (Population) | Founded | Member of City Conference | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cretin-Derham Hall High School Cretin-Derham Hall High School Cretin-Derham Hall High School is a private, co-educational Catholic high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet... |
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... (287,151) |
1871 | 1977-2003 | Private/Catholic | 1,318 | Raiders |
| Saint Thomas Academy Saint Thomas Academy Saint Thomas Academy , originally known as Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary, and formerly known as Saint Thomas Military Academy is the only all male, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory, military high school in Minnesota. It is located in Mendota Heights near Saint Paul... |
Mendota Heights, Minnesota Mendota Heights, Minnesota At the 2000 census, there were 11,434 people, 4,178 households and 3,237 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,222.2 per square mile . There were 4,252 housing units at an average density of 454.5 per square mile... 11,594 |
1885 | 1977-1987 | Private/Catholic | 704 | Cadets |
| Hill-Murray School Hill-Murray School Hill-Murray School is a coeducational private Catholic school serving grades 7-12. It is located on a site in Maplewood, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it was established in 1971 through the consolidation of Archbishop... |
Maplewood, Minnesota Maplewood, Minnesota As of the census of 2000, there were 34,947 people, 13,758 households, and 9,190 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,017.5 people per square mile . There were 14,004 housing units at an average density of 808.5 per square mile... (34,947) |
1958 | 1977-1987 | Private/Catholic | 1,025 | Pioneers |
History
The conference originally had four members: Central, Cleveland, Humboldt and Mechanic Arts. In 1911, Cleveland High School changed its name to Johnson High SchoolJohnson Senior High School (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Johnson Senior High School is a comprehensive high school for grades 9 to 12 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Originally named Cleveland High School, the school was renamed after Minnesota governor John A. Johnson in 1911. Johnson is the second oldest high school in the Saint Paul Public Schools...
, and in the 1920s Washington High School and Harding High School
Harding Senior High School (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Harding Senior High School is a public comprehensive high school located on the East Side of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The school is one of six high schools in the Saint Paul Public School District and is the largest high school in the city of Saint Paul with enrollment at approximately 2400...
joined the conference. In 1941 the smaller high schools of Marshall High School, Monroe High School, Murray High School and Wilson High School were added to the conference, bringing the number of schools in the conference to ten. In 1953, Marshall closed as a senior high and ten years later, Wilson would also close, with most of its students attending the newly builtHighland Park High School
Highland Park High School (Minnesota)
Highland Park Senior High School is a public secondary school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States serving grades 9 through 12. It is located in the Highland Park neighborhood....
. In 1976, one of its original members, Mechanic Arts, was closed, and in a span of two years from 1977 to 1978, Monroe, Washington, and Murray high schools would do the same. Most of the students from Washington and Murray were incorporated into Como Park Senior High School
Como Park Senior High School
Como Park Senior High School is a public high school located in the Lake Como area of Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving grades nine through twelve. Along with six other public high schools, Como Park comprises the Saint Paul Public Schools...
.
Addition and dropping of privates schools
In 1977, the conference added four private schools from the Saint Paul area: CretinCretin-Derham Hall High School
Cretin-Derham Hall High School is a private, co-educational Catholic high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet...
, Derham Hall
Cretin-Derham Hall High School
Cretin-Derham Hall High School is a private, co-educational Catholic high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet...
, Hill-Murray
Hill-Murray School
Hill-Murray School is a coeducational private Catholic school serving grades 7-12. It is located on a site in Maplewood, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it was established in 1971 through the consolidation of Archbishop...
and St. Thomas Academy
Saint Thomas Academy
Saint Thomas Academy , originally known as Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary, and formerly known as Saint Thomas Military Academy is the only all male, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory, military high school in Minnesota. It is located in Mendota Heights near Saint Paul...
. The decision to admit the schools had mixed support. The Saint Paul School Board approved the addition 7-0 while the St. Paul Athletic Council voted against the addition as well as the City Conference Coaches 95-4. In January 1986 the Saint Paul Athletic Council and the Public Schools coaches both voted to drop the four private schools and have a six team public school conference. Coaches were concerned that the private schools were winning a disproportionate amount of conference titles and had several unfair advantages. The private schools were able to attract students from throughout the Metro Area while the public schools were limited to neighborhood boundaries. In April of that year the Saint Paul School Board voted 5-1 to drop Hill-Murray and Saint Thomas Academy. The board acted on a March recommendation by the Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent and a two year study by the Saint Paul Public School Coaches' Association. Cretin High School and Derham Hall High School were allowed to remain because they were located within the Saint Paul City limits. The vote also let St. Bernard's, St. Agnes and St. Paul Academy join the Conference if the desired although they all were in different athletic conferences.
The decision allowed Saint Thomas Academy and Hill-Murray to remain for the 1986-1987 school year and guaranteed them a non-conference schedule during the 1987-1988 school year but forced them to find a new conference for the 1989-1990 school year or to schedule games as an independent. Hill-Murray and Saint Thomas Academy applied for entry into the Twin Cities Federation or Umbrella Conference, then a twenty three school athletic conference split into three distinct conferences. Hill-Murray was accepted into the North Suburban division while Saint Thomas Academy was rejected for not meeting the criteria of the original twenty three schools. Saint Thomas Academy applied twice to seven different conferences but was rejected by all of them including the Saint Paul Suburban Conference three times. A month after Hill-Murray and St. Thomas were dropped the Minnesota State Legislature held a legislative task force to discuss the Minnesota State High School League's role in placing school's in athletic conferences. The MSHSL stated that they did not want the authority to do so. However in the following year in the Spring of 1987 the Minnesota State Legislature passed a law requiring the Minnesota State High School League to place a high school in a conference if certain conditions were met. Eventually in the Spring of 1988, the Minnesota State High School league placed Saint Thomas Academy in the Saint Paul Suburban Conference, a member of the Twin Cities Federation
Dropping of Cretin
In 1987 Cretin and Derham Hall merged into a co-ed facility to form Cretin-Derham Hall High SchoolCretin-Derham Hall High School
Cretin-Derham Hall High School is a private, co-educational Catholic high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet...
. In September 1996 the athletic directors of the seven public high schools voted to recommend the exclusion of Cretin when the new Arlington High School began competing in varsity sports for the 1997-1998 season. Whenever the public school coaches were polled about removing Cretin they were overwhelmingly in favor. They offered to allow Cretin play the conference as an independent and as a result not be eligible for Conference titles or awards. The following spring the Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent decided not to bring the issue to the School Board, which had the authority to drop Cretin. The Superintendent cited that the issue was too political to remove the only Catholic school in a heavily Catholic city. He also reasoned that it would be better to improve the competitive level of the public schools including the elementary and junior high sports teams. That plan would have cost seven figures and was quickly discarded. In the fall of 1998 Cretin expressed interest in joining a new athletic conference. In 1999 supporters of Humboldt High School asked the Saint Paul Public Schools superintendent to either remove Cretin or find a new conference for Humboldt to compete in because of the large gap in talent. A month later the public school's athletic directors agreed to support a proposal to remove Cretin for the 2000-2001 school year. Cretin applied at the same time to the now defunct St. Paul Suburban Conference.
In March 2002 Cretin began making steps away from the Saint Paul City Conference. The football team announced plans to compete as an independent beginning in the fall of 2002. The team later agreed to play the Classic Lake Conference
Classic Lake Conference
The Classic Lake Conference, sometimes just referred to as the Classic Lake, is the conference for five high schools in the west metro area of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Much like the divisions in professional sports, such as football and baseball, the Classic Lake Conference is one of many in the...
schools in 2003 and 2004 as an independent. After the 2002-2003 season, Cretin-Derham Hall left the conference and began competition in the Suburban East Conference. Nine conferences had rejected Cretin before the Minnesota State High School league placed Cretin in the Suburban East Conference. The Suburban East Conference and Cretin both appealed the decision but it was upheld. Cretin had wanted to be placed in the Classic Suburban Conference.
Recent history
The most recent addition was in 1996 when the newly built Arlington Senior High SchoolArlington Senior High School
Arlington Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is located north of Downtown Saint Paul on Rice Street, west of Interstate 35E in the city's North End neighborhood. The school enrolled 875 students in grades 9-12 and has the capacity to enroll 2,000...
joined. Arlington did not compete at the varsity level in athletics until the fall of 1997.
Twin Cities Conference
In 1985 Minneapolis proposed merging the Saint Paul and Minneapolis City ConferenceMinneapolis City Conference
Minneapolis City Conference is the high school sports league for schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota.*Edison High School*North Community High School*Patrick Henry High School*Roosevelt High School*South High School*Southwest High School...
s. One plan had a two division alignment with Saint Paul and Minneapolis schools in separate divisions. The ease at scheduling non-conference games with teams from the other division was seen as acceptable to Minneapolis officials. The proposal did not happen but talks returned the following year when the Saint Paul City Conference was planning to remove the four private schools from the conference. At that time the scheduling proposal was seen as being more restrictive and not favorable to Minneapolis administrators. Saint Paul ended the possibility several months later in April 1986 when the Saint Paul Public School Board voted to withdraw its invitation for the Minneapolis City Conference to join with the Saint Paul schools for a Twin Cities Conference.