Independent School League (New England)

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 members compete in eighteen sports in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC). Notable to the league, they do not allow for schools to have postgraduate students compete in athletic competition, and consequently, many of the member institutions do not offer postgraduate programs. ISL schools are also not allowed to give athletic or academic based scholarships, and are only allowed to give need-based ones. The teams that make up the ISL are some of the highest rated schools in New England both academically and athletically.

Independent School League
ConferenceNEPSAC
Founded1948
Sports fielded
  • 25[1]
    • men's: 11
    • women's: 12
    • coeducational: 2
No. of teams16
HeadquartersMassachusetts
RegionNew England
Official websitehttp://www.islsports.org

History

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 Tabor. 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 joined, and in 1972 Groton replaced Tabor – both private boarding schools in the Boston area.

In 1973 St. Sebastian's was added and in 1974 Roxbury Latin was added. The league changed its name to the 'Independent School League' in 1974.

St. Paul's, Lawrence Academy, The Rivers School and St. George's joined during the mid-1970s.

For 2017-2018, with the departure of St. Paul's School, a new addition to the Independent School League is Tabor Academy (Massachusetts), joining the league in 2017 after playing as a non-league competitor against several of the schools for many years, and being one of the original founding members.[2]

Members
School Location Colors Team name Established Enrollment Joined ISL Rivals
Belmont Hill School Belmont, MA     Sextants 1923 420 1948 St. Sebastians, BB&N, Roxbury Latin
Brooks School North Andover, MA     N/A 1926 370 1948 The Governor's Academy
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

(BB&N)

 Cambridge, MA    Knights 1883 1,025 1948 Belmont Hill School, Noble and Greenough
The Governor's Academy Byfield, MA    Governors 1763 375 1948 Brooks School
Groton School Groton, MA    Zebras 1884 350 1972 St. Mark's School
Lawrence Academy at Groton Groton, MA    Spartans 1793 375 1973
Middlesex School Concord, MA    Zebras 1901 350 1968 St. George's School
Milton Academy Milton, MA    Mustangs 1798 1,000 1948 Noble and Greenough
Noble and Greenough School Dedham, MA    Bulldogs 1866 625 1948 Milton Academy

Roxbury Latin

The Rivers School Weston, MA     Red Wings 1915 491 1973 Noble and Greenough
Roxbury Latin School West Roxbury, MA     Foxes 1645 300 1974 Belmont Hill School

Noble and Greenough

St. George's School Middletown, RI     Dragons 1896 350 1981 Middlesex School
St. Mark's School Southborough, MA    Lions 1865 325 1948 Groton School
St. Sebastian's School Needham, MA    Arrows 1941 380 1973 Belmont Hill School
Tabor Academy (Massachusetts) Marion, MA    Seawolves 1876 515 2017
Thayer Academy Braintree, MA    Tigers 1877 675 1948

Leadership
Independent School League
🌍
Locations of ISL members, 2021-2022 full

Each school's athletic program is run by an experienced and well-respected administrator, many of whom rose to their positions after successful coaching careers either at their present school or prior to their arrival.

School Athletic Director
Belmont Hill School George Tahan
Brooks School Roberta Crump-Burbank
BB&N Chuck Richard
Governor's Academy Claudia Barcomb
Groton School Robert Low
Lawrence Academy Kevin Potter
Middlesex School Kenneth Risley
Milton Academy Lamar Reddicks
Noble & Greenough School Alex Gallagher '90
The Rivers School Keith Zalaski
Roxbury Latin School Tony Teixeira
St. George's School Robert Pipe
St. Mark's School Lauren Ames
St. Sebastian's School David Hinman
Tabor Academy Conan Leary '97
Thayer Academy Rick Foresteiré

Sports

Member schools compete in the following sports:

Football

The ISL is currently divided into two divisions - the ISL 7 and ISL 9. Below are the 2017 divisions.[3]

ISL 7 ISL 9
BB&N Brooks School
Belmont Hill Groton School
Governor's Academy Middlesex School
Lawrence Academy Noble & Greenough School
Milton Academy The Rivers School
St. Sebastian's Roxbury Latin
Tabor Academy St. George's School
St. Mark's School
Thayer Academy

Boys' Ice Hockey

The ISL is divided into two divisions for boys' ice hockey - the Keller Division[4] and Eberhart Division[5]

Keller Division Eberhart Division
Belmont Hill School Brooks School
Governor's Academy BB&N
Lawrence Academy Groton School
Milton Academy Middlesex School
Noble & Greenough School The Rivers School
St. Sebastian's Roxbury Latin
Thayer Academy St. George's School
Tabor Academy St. Mark's School

2018-19 Champions: Lawrence Academy (Keller) and The Rivers School (Eberhart)

In 2017, The Rivers School won the ISL Eberhart Division for the third time in four years (2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17)[6] and qualified for the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Stuart/Corkery Open Tournament,[7] becoming the first ISL Eberhart Division team to do so. Rivers defeated Belmont Hill School and Phillips Exeter Academy to reach the final, where they lost to Kimball Union Academy.In 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 season St. Marks School won the New England Prep Small School Championship, and in the 2014-2015 season Brooks School won the New England Prep Large School Championship. Both teams were from the Eberhart division on the ISL.

Boys' Soccer
School Number of Championships (Since 1980)[8] Most Recent Championship
Brooks School 9 2017
Noble & Greenough School 8 2011
Thayer Academy 5 2006
Milton Academy 4 2019
Lawrence Academy 3 2014
BB&N 3 2009
St. Paul's 3 2000
The Rivers School 3 2021
Belmont Hill 2 2008
St. Mark's School 2 1992
Middlesex School 2 2018
Groton School 1 1991

Girls' Soccer

Noble & Greenough have been the preeminent team in the ISL since 1981[9] and claimed the 2016 ISL Championship.[10]

School Number of Championships[9] Most Recent Championship
Noble & Greenough School 19 2018
Brooks School 9 2013
The Rivers School 4 2015
BB&N 5 2019
St. Paul's School 3 1992
Governor's 2 2012
Buckingham, Browne & Nichols 1 2017
Tabor Academy 1 2018[11]

Boys' Lacrosse

ISL lacrosse has sent many players to top division one (D1) lacrosse universities, and has had numerous All-Americans.

School Number of Championships[12] Most Recent Championship
Belmont Hill School 13 2017
Middlesex School 11 2012
Governor's Academy 9 2018
Milton Academy 2 2004
Noble & Greenough School 3 2018
Thayer Academy 1 2014
St. Sebastian's School 2 2019
The Rivers School 1 2009
Roxbury Latin School 1 2000
St. George's School 1 1990
St. Mark's School 1 1991

Girls' Ice Hockey

Many ISL schools participate in girls' ice hockey. The ISL has sent many women to D1 schools and to the Olympics. The 2018 champions were the Tabor Academy Seawolves (12-1).[13]

Boys' Basketball

Since 2000, ISL players have earned the Gatorade Massachusetts State Player of the Year award six times:[14] Mike Jones (Thayer Academy, 2003), Richard Roby (Lawrence Academy, 2004), Stevie Mejia (Lawrence Academy, 2008), Nate Lubick (St. Mark's School, 2009 & 2010), and Azar Swain (The Rivers School, 2017).

Brooks School won its fifth consecutive ISL Championship in 2019[15] with a 15-0 record in league play for the fifth consecutive season. At the end of the 2018-19 season, Brooks' ISL winning streak sat at 84-straight victories while its overall winning streak was snapped by Hamden Hall in the first game of the season, ending a run of 66-straight victories.[16]

The Rivers School won the ISL Championship in 2013-14, posting a perfect 15-0 record in league play.[17]

Girls' Basketball

The 2018 and 2019 ISL champion was the undefeated (13-0 and 10-0) Tabor Academy basketball team.[18] Prior to Tabor joining the league and earning their 2018 and 2019 championships, Noble & Greenough had won the previous 14 Independent School League Championships. (2004-2017)[19]

Softball

BB&N won the ISL in 2018.[20]

The Governor's Academy has won six championships in seven years between 2011 and 2017.[21]

References
  1. https://www.islsports.org/
  2. "Tabor and the ISL | Tabor Academy". taboracademy.org. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  3. "2017 ISL Standings". isleague.org. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  4. "2017 Keller Division Standings". isleague.org. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  5. "2017 ISL Eberhart Standings". isleague.org. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  6. "Four Rivers Teams Earn NEPSAC Tournament Invitations". The Rivers School. 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  7. "NEPSAC Boys' Hockey Tournaments 2017" (PDF). NEPSAC.
  8. "ISL Champions - ISL Champions - Independent School League". islsports.org. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  9. "ISL Champions - ISL Champions - Independent School League". islsports.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  10. "2016 CURRENT STANDINGS - Girls' Soccer - Independent School League". islsports.org. Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  11. "Girls Soccer Best in New England". 19 November 2018.
  12. "CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY - Boys' Lacrosse - Independent School League". islsports.org. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  13. "Girls' Ice Hockey - Independent School League". islsports.org. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  14. "Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year Awards - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  15. "Winning Weeks". brooksschool.org. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  16. "For Brooks boys' basketball, it's 66 straight wins in ISL - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  17. "Boys' Basketball, Hockey Claim ISL Titles". The Rivers School. 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  18. "Girls' Basketball - Independent School League". islsports.org. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  19. nobles.edu http://www.nobles.edu/athletics/team.cfm?gender=Girls&season=Winter&activity=Basketball. Retrieved 2018-05-17. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. "Calendar Report". isleague.org. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  21. "The Governor's Academy: Teams & Schedules". thegovernorsacademy.org. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
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