The Independent School League (ISL) is an athletic conference of sixteen private college-preparatory schools in Greater Boston. Its parent organization is the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). Founded in 1948, the ISL sponsors competitions in twenty-five sports.
The ISL hosts some of the nation's oldest high school athletic rivalries, including Milton-Nobles and Groton-St. Mark's, both of which date back to 1886.
History
Composition In 1948, administrators at Belmont Hill, Brooks, Browne & Nichols (now BB&N), Governor Dummer (now The Governor's Academy), Milton, Noble & Greenough, St. Mark's, and Tabor established the Private School League. From the start, the ISL contained a mix of day and boarding schools, as well as religious and nonsectarian schools. The league changed its name to the Independent School League in 1974.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Middlesex, Groton, St. Sebastian's, Roxbury Latin, St. Paul's, Lawrence, Rivers, and St. George's joined the league. Tabor left the league in 1972 and St. Paul's left in 2017, at which point Tabor rejoined the league.
Stance on scholarships and postgraduates The ISL forbids member schools from providing athletic scholarships (or any other scholarships not based strictly on the student's financial need), a policy that has been met with some controversy. In 2011, the ISL found that Lawrence Academy had granted excessive financial aid to some of its football players, in addition to scheduling too many football practices in the off-season; as a result, the ISL stripped Lawrence of its 2009 and 2010 football conference titles and imposed a three-year bowl ban. Previously, St. George's (which Lawrence had defeated 48-15 the previous year) "made national headlines" by forfeiting its conference football game against Lawrence, asserting that the Lawrence team had such a large talent advantage over its conference rivals that playing Lawrence was a safety risk to its own athletes. Citing this policy, St. Paul's left the ISL in 2017; it is now a member of the Lakes Region League.
The ISL also forbids member schools from fielding postgraduate students on their sports teams. Accordingly, future NBA player Duncan Robinson was required to transfer from Governor's to Phillips Exeter for his postgraduate year.
Absence of rowing competition The ISL does not sponsor rowing, even though eight of the sixteen ISL schools (Belmont Hill, Brooks, BB&N, Groton, Middlesex, Nobles, St. Mark's, and Tabor) have boys' and girls' crews. New England high school rowing is administered by the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA), which was founded in 1947 and predates the ISL by one year.
Since NEIRA began awarding team championships in 1984 (for boys) and 1989 (for girls), the crews of ISL member schools have won the boys' coxed fours team trophy 32 out of 37 years, and the girls' coxed fours team trophy 18 out of 32 years. With the exception of Tabor and the now-departed St. Paul's, ISL schools do not compete in boys' and girls' eights, where teams like Kent, Andover, and Exeter participate.
Members Current Members SchoolLocationColorsNicknameFoundedJoinedHS EnrollmentDay/BoardingReligious AffiliationBelmont Hill SchoolBelmont, MA Sextants 1923 1948 471 (boys only) Day (primary) NonsectarianBrooks SchoolNorth Andover, MA 1926 1948 353 Boarding EpiscopalBuckingham Browne & Nichols SchoolCambridge, MA Knights 1883 1948 525 Day NonsectarianThe Governor's AcademyByfield, MA Governors 1763 1948 405 Boarding NonsectarianGroton SchoolGroton, MA Zebras 1884 1972 351 Boarding EpiscopalLawrence Academy at GrotonGroton, MA Spartans 1793 1973 424 Boarding NonsectarianMiddlesex SchoolConcord, MA Zebras 1901 1968 402 Boarding NonsectarianMilton AcademyMilton, MA Mustangs 1798 1948 471 Boarding NonsectarianNoble and Greenough SchoolDedham, MA Bulldogs 1866 1948 518 Day (primary) NonsectarianThe Rivers SchoolWeston, MA Red Wings 1915 1973 382 Day NonsectarianRoxbury Latin School West Roxbury, MA Foxes 1645 1974 219 (boys only) Day NonsectarianSt. George's SchoolMiddletown, RI Dragons 1896 1981 380 Boarding EpiscopalSt. Mark's SchoolSouthborough, MA Lions 1865 1948 380 Boarding EpiscopalSt. Sebastian's SchoolNeedham, MA Arrows 1941 1973 380 (boys only) Day CatholicTabor AcademyMarion, MA Seawolves 1876 1948*, 2017 507 Boarding NonsectarianThayer AcademyBraintree, MA Tigers 1877 1948 496 Day Nonsectarian
Former Member SchoolLocationColorsNicknameFoundedJoinedLeftHS EnrollmentDay/BoardingReligious AffiliationSt. Paul's SchoolConcord, NH Pelicans 1856 1948 2017 540 Boarding Episcopal
Sponsored sports
Member schools compete in the following sports:
+Boys' and/or co-ed sports School Crosscountry Football Soccer Basketball Icehockey Skiing Squash Wrestling Baseball Golf Lacrosse Tennis Track Belmont Hill Brooks BB&N Governor's Groton Lawrence Middlesex Milton Nobles Rivers Roxbury Latin St. George's St. Mark's St. Sebastian's Tabor Thayer +Girls' sports School Crosscountry Fieldhockey Soccer Volleyball Basketball Icehockey Skiing Squash Lacrosse Softball Tennis Track Brooks BB&N Governor's Groton Lawrence Middlesex Milton Nobles Rivers St. George's St. Mark's Tabor Thayer
Divisional play in boys' football and ice hockey The ISL divides its football and boys' ice hockey teams into separate divisions (ISL 7/ISL 9 for football; Keller/Eberhart for hockey). The divisional structure generally separates the larger schools (by total boys' enrollment) from the smaller schools, paralleling NEPSAC's separation of the New England hockey playoffs into Large School and Small School brackets. However, the NEPSAC divisions are based strictly on the size of the student body (which may also vary from year to year), which occasionally generates discrepancies between the ISL and NEPSAC classifications. For example, at the 2023 New England boys' ice hockey championships, Keller Division teams Milton, Nobles, and Belmont Hill competed in the open (Top 8) bracket, Keller team St. Sebastian's competed in the Large School division, and Keller teams Lawrence and Governors competed with Eberhart teams St. Mark's and Brooks in the Small School division. Ironically, an Eberhart team (Brooks) won the Large School championship in 2015, and another Eberhart team (Rivers) made it to the New England semifinals in 2018.
Football As of the fall 2023 season, the ISL was divided into the following divisions for football:
ISL 7 Division: Belmont Hill, BB&N, Governor's, Lawrence, Milton, St. Sebastian's, Tabor ISL 9 Division: Brooks, Groton, Middlesex, Nobles, Rivers, Roxbury Latin, St. George's, St. Mark's, Thayer
Boys' ice hockey As of the winter 2023-24 season, the ISL was divided into the following divisions for ice hockey:
Keller Division: Belmont Hill, Governor's, Lawrence, Milton, Nobles, St. Sebastian's, Thayer, Tabor Eberhart Division: Brooks, BB&N, Groton, Middlesex, Roxbury Latin, Rivers, St. George's, St. Mark's
References