Central Suburban League

The Central Suburban League is an IHSA-recognized high school extracurricular conference comprising twelve public schools located in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Comprised of twelve relatively large high schools, it is among the larger high school conferences (by student population) in Illinois. [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrolln.htm 2008-09 official school enrollments] ]

chools

* Deerfield High School Warriors [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum0410.htm Deerfield H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Evanston Township High School Wildkits [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum0531.htm Evanston Township H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Glenbrook North High School Spartans [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1426.htm Glenbrook North H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Glenbrook South High School Titans [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum0717.htm Glenbrook South H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Highland Park High School Giants [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum0815.htm Highland Park H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Maine East High School Blue Demons [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1612.htm Maine East H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Maine South High School Hawks [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1613.htm Maine South H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Maine West High School Warriors [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum0415.htm Maine West and Maine North H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* New Trier High School Trevians [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum2334.htm records for all New Trier H.S. IHSA athletics and activities] ]
* Niles North High School Vikings [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1921.htm Niles North H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Niles West High School Wolves [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1922.htm Niles West and Niles East H.S. IHSA athletic and activity records] ]
* Waukegan High School Bulldogs [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum2311.htm records for all Waukegan H.S. IHSA athletics and activities] ]

Former Schools

* Niles East High School (opened in 1938, the school was Niles High School until 1959 when Niles West opened. The school closed in 1980.)
* Maine North High School (opened in 1970, the building closed in 1981.)
* New Trier West High School (between 1964 and 82, New Trier was split into a west and east campus. Starting in 1982, the west campus was converted to a freshmen only building.)
* Waukegan West High School (between 1975 and 90, Waukegan split into a west and east campus. Starting in 1990, the west campus folded into the east campus.)

Divisional Alignment

While the divisions' names are geographic, their makeup is not based on a school's location. The North Division includes the schools with the smallest enrollments while the South Division includes the schools with the largest enrollments. Every two years the member school's official enrollment is used to determine division alignment.

Not all activities and sports make use of the division alignment. In chess, teams compete as a part of the North Subruban Chess League which comprises schools from many conferences. Scholastic Bowl plays as a single twelve team league.

History

The CSL traces its history back to the founding of the Suburban League in 1913, of which Evanston and New Trier were both founding members. The league had somewhat fluid membership over several decades. As the population of suburban Chicago grew (and the number of high schools with it) schools began leaving to join newer conferences such as the West Suburban Conference (started 1922), the Northwest Suburban (started in 1925, which later became the North Suburban Conference and Mid-Suburban League), and the South Suburban League (started in 1950). With more schools leaving (and newer suburban schools joining more geographically logical conferences), the Central Suburban League was founded in 1965, the last major conference to be carved from the old Suburban League. The last remaining bastion of the Suburban League started joining these other leagues, and finally folded after the 1973-1974 school year.

As of the end of the 2007-08 school year, the past and present schools of the CSL have won 233 state titles in various IHSA sports and activities. They have finished in second place 261 times. Nearly half of these (105 state titles and 113 state runners-up) have been won by New Trier (or the two schools it was split into for a time, New Trier East and New Trier West). Evanston adds 47 state titles and 49 runner-up prizes. The league has remained stable (except for divisional realignment) since Niles North returned to the league in 1991. [ [http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id349.html History of Illinois athletic conferences] ]

Timeline

* 1965 - CSL is formed by Deerfield, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Maine South, Niles North, and Niles West.
* 1967 - Maine West joins the league, as does the newly opened New Trier West.
* 1971 - Maine North joins.
* 1972 - Highland Park and Niles East both join from the Suburban League. Maine East joins from the West Suburban Conference. This is the first year there are two divisions in the conference.
* 1974 - Maine North closes.
* 1975 - With the Suburban League now folded, Evanston, New Trier East, Waukegan East, and Waukegan West join.
* 1979 - Niles North leaves the league.
* 1980 - Niles East closes.
* 1981 - New Trier East and West consolidate into New Trier Township High School.
* 1990 - Waukegan East and West consolidate into Waukegan High School.
* 1991 - Niles North rejoins the league. [ [http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id349.html History of Illinois athletic conferences] ]

Notable Competitors in the League (since 1965)

*Dave Bergman (Maine South) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?exact=1&came_from=Maine%20South%20HS%20(Park%20Ridge,IL) Baseball Reference.com's entry on Dave Bergman being drafted from Maine South] ]
* Dave Butz (Maine South) was an NFL defensive lineman (1973–88) and member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. He was a starter for the Washington Redskins championship teams in Super Bowls XVII & XXII [ [http://webpages.maine207.org/south/departments/lrc/mthshistory/68butz.htm Maine South newspaper article on Dave Butz] ] [ [http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/highschool/766206,CST-SPT-spot30.article Chicago Sun Times article listing Dave Butz as Maine South alum] ]
* John Castino (New Trier) was a Major League Baseball player (1979–84) & 1979 AL Rookie of The Year. [ [http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-castino27jun27,1,3225455.story?coll=cs-whitesox-headlines Chicago Tribune interview with John Castino] ]
* Bart Conner (Niles West) was an Olympic gold medal winning gymnast at the 1984 Summer Olympics. [ [http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/highschool/976293,CST-SPT-spot29.article Chicago Sun Times article listing Conner as a Niles West alum] ]
* Lindsay Knapp (Deerfield) was an NFL lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs & Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl XXXI champions).Fact|date=July 2008
* Christina Loukas (Deerfield) is a 2008 US Olympic team member in diving. She was the first female diver in Illinois to score over 500 points in state competition, and won multiple Big Ten championships. [ [http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/ot/08-hoosier-olympians.html Indiana University Olympians with Loukas listing Deerfield HS] ] [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-13-new-oly-divingjul13,0,3034339.story "Diver Christina Loukas ready for Olympics" July 13,2008 @chicagotribune.com] ] [ [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/swg/records/ttop.htm#0X900 IHSA Girls Swimming & Diving record page] ]
* Rashard Mendenhall (Niles West) is an NFL running back. [ [http://www.pioneerlocal.com/mortongrove/sports/743556,mg-mendenhall-01708-s1.article local paper reporting about Rashard Mendenhall] ]
* Aaron Moorehead (Deerfield) is an NFL wide receiver and member of the Super Bowl XLI Champion Indianapolis Colts. [ [http://www.nfl.com/players/aaronmoorehead/profile?id=MOO778612 nfl.com profile of Aaron Moorehead listing Deerfield HS] ]
*Brent Novoselsky (Niles North) was an NFL tight end with the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings (1988–94). [ [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=NOVOSBRE01 Brent Novolesky bio & stats @databasefootball.com] ]
* Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North) is a standout collegiate basketball player at Duke University. [ [http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=620661 Duke Basketball profile of Scheyer listing GBN as his high school] ]

References