This article is about the high school in Chicago. For the high school in San Francisco, see St. Ignatius College Preparatory. For other uses, see Saint Ignatius College (disambiguation).
Saint Ignatius College Preparatory School
Private college-preparatory school
Location1076 West Roosevelt Road
CityChicago, Illinois
Zipcode60608-1594
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°52′3″N 87°39′15″W
Religious affiliationCatholic
DenominationJesuit
PatronIgnatius of Loyola
Established1869 (age 157)
FounderFr. Arnold Damen, S.J.
AuthorityArchdiocese of Chicago
OversightSociety of Jesus
Ceeb141170
PresidentJohn J. Chandler[3]
PrincipalDr. Sterling Brown[4]
Teaching staff87.6 [5]
Grades9–12[5]
GenderCoeducational[5]
Enrollment1,373[5]
Enrollment as of2019–2020
Ratio16:3[5]
Hours in day7[5]
ColorsMaroon and gold[6]
Athletic conference
Sports
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Softball
  • Ice Hockey
  • Volleyball
  • Football
  • Chess
  • Field hockey
  • Rowing
  • Soccer
  • Lacrosse
  • Rugby
  • Tennis
  • Water polo
  • Golf
  • Sailing
  • Swimming
  • Diving
MascotWolf
Team nameWolfpack[6]
AccreditationNCA[7]
PublicationPhantasm[8]
NewspaperSpirit[8]
YearbookPrep[8]
Endowment$34 million[9]
Fees$2,000
Annual tuition$22,600 (2025-2026)[10]
AffiliationJSEA NCEA[5]
Website

www.ignatius.org

St. Ignatius College Prep
Designated other 1Chicago Landmark
Designated other1 dateMarch 18, 1987
LocationChicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°52′3″N 87°39′15″W
LocmapinChicago#Illinois#USA
Built1870
ArchitectToussaint Menard[1]
ArchitectureSecond Empire
AddedNovember 17, 1977
Refnum77000480[2]

Saint Ignatius College Prep is a private, coeducational Jesuit college-preparatory school located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school was founded in Chicago in 1869 by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J., a Dutch missionary to the United States. Saint Ignatius College Prep is Chicago's flagship Jesuit high school and one of the preeminent Catholic college preparatory schools in the United States.

Campus

The campus of Saint Ignatius College Prep is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The school's main building was designed by Canadian architect Toussaint Menard in Second Empire style and opened in 1870. The original school building is one of only five existing Chicago structures to predate the Great Fire of 1871.

The school began on two acres of land and now occupies a 26-acre campus. The campus includes the original building and modern facilities adjacent to the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is located 1.5 miles southwest of Chicago's Loop. Among the unique spaces is the 1887-88 Brunswick Room featuring elaborate cabinets and woodwork installed by the Brunswick Company for the school's natural history museum, the Foglia Library, the “Chicago gallery” of architectural artifacts in the Driehaus building, and Father Damen's office. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, St. Ignatius College Prep was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1987.

History

Inception

In 1836, the Dutch Jesuit Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J. (March 20, 1815, Leur, Netherlands – January 1, 1890, Omaha, Nebraska),[11] was recruited to work with Native Americans in the Dakotas by Fr. Peter De Smet, S.J. In 1844 he was ordained a priest in Missouri. In 1857, Damen was first assigned to Chicago to start a parish for Irish immigrants on Chicago's near-West Side, then an area of the sprawling prairie. The construction of the Holy Family Church was completed in 1860.[11]

The culmination of Father Arnold J. Damen, S.J.'s work in Chicago, the St. Ignatius campus was opened in 1870 as St. Ignatius College. Loyola University originated from this institution but, since 1922, St. Ignatius has operated solely as a college preparatory school. The Second Empire-style edifice is among the oldest in the city, a rare and distinctive example of institutional designs pre-dating the Chicago Fire of 1871. It was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1987.[12]

Admissions

Demographics

The demographic breakdown by race/ethnicity of the 1,373 students enrolled for the 2023–2024 school year was:[5]

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity 2019–2020[5]
WhiteHispanicBlackTwo or More RacesAsianAmerican Indian/Alaska Native
924271125104644

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Saint Ignatius competes in the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) and the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC)[13] and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. The school's teams are stylized as the "Wolfpack".

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

  • David Abidor (born 1992), Men's Varsity assistant soccer coach (Jul 2021 - Jul 2022), and soccer player[34]
  • Johnny Bach (2010–2011), Men's basketball volunteer assistant coach[35]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Chicago Landmarks - St. Ignatius College Prep Building". City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  2. ^
  3. ^ "Welcome from the President". St. Ignatius College Prep. Retrieved February 24, 2021. – via ignatius.org.
  4. ^ "Prefect's Office". St. Ignatius College Prep. Retrieved 13 January 2023. – via ignatius.org.
  5. ^ nces_psch
  6. ^ "Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 10 November 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  7. ^ NCA-CASI. "AdvanceEd-NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on 2009-05-24. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  8. ^ "Student Activities". directory. St. Ignatius College Prep. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  9. ^ "Inside Ignatius". No. Fall 2009. – via St. Ignatius College Prep (www.ignatius.org)[dead link]
  10. ^ "Tuition Assistance & Affordability | Saint Ignatius College Prep". Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  11. ^ In Chicago kent bijna iedereen pater Damen Archived May 6, 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
  12. ^ "St. Ignatius College Prep Building Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  13. ^ "IHSA Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep)". Illinois High School Association. February 18, 2021. Archived February 24, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Notable Alumni | Saint Ignatius College Prep". invest.ignatius.org. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  15. ^ "High Schools". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  16. ^ Dao, James (16 June 2000). "The 2000 Campaign: Man in the News; A Son of Chicago – William Michael Daley". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Tuesday A Man in the News article on Friday about Commerce Secretary William M. Daley misidentified the Chicago high school that he attended. (The error also appeared in a profile of Mr. Daley on Dec. 14, 1996.) It was St. Ignatius High School, now called Saint Ignatius College Prep, not De La Salle High School.
  17. ^ "Muldoon feted by Saint Ignatius at law luncheon". Bar News. 40 (7). Illinois State Bar Association. 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2009. A 1947 graduate of the school, Muldoon will receive its 2000 Award of Excellence in the Field of Law ... Previous award recipients include former appellate justices Gino L. DiVito and Mel R. Jiganti, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, U.S. Secretary of Commerce William Daley ...
  18. ^ Neubart, Dave (29 October 2000). "Richard Dreihaus, 57". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Driehaus grew up on the Southwest Side and graduated from Saint Ignatius College Prep and DePaul University.
  19. ^ "Entrepreneurship Program | Saint Ignatius College Prep". invest.ignatius.org. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  20. ^ "Roster - Erie BayHawks"
  21. ^ Chandler, Susan (11 February 2009). "Mellody Hobson: Champion of financial literacy - Ariel's president teaches children and their parents the power of investing". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Hobson grew up on the North Side as the youngest of six ... But her mother made sure Hobson had a good education, sending her to Saint Ignatius College Prep.
  22. ^ "Kwasny '88 Receives Founder's Award". St. Ignatius College Preparatory. October 20, 2023. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  23. ^ Lipinski, Dan (20 November 2006). "Remarks by Rep. Dan Lipinski before the National Science Board Commission on 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics". science.house.gov. U.S. House of Representatives - Committee on Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2009. I remember Father Fergus, who taught me physics at St Ignatius, taking this childhood fascination and tying it to engineering.
  24. ^ Pearson, Rick (April 1997), "What is Mike Madigan up to?", Illinois Issues, p. 13, retrieved 13 November 2009 Madigan was born into the then-fledgling Democratic politics of the 13th Ward ... he attended St. Adrian Elementary School and Saint Ignatius College Prep, then the University of Notre Dame and Loyola University law school.
  25. ^ "Illinois Blue Book 1965-1966", Biographical Sketch of John J. McNichols, pg. 256-257
  26. ^ "In Birmingham, White Players Can't Perform On Negro Team". The New York Age p. 23. August 12, 1950. Archived October 29, 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
  27. ^ Newhart, Bob (2006). I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This: And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny. New York, NY, USA: Hyperion. pp. 24. ISBN 1-4013-0246-7. I lived about eight blocks from Fenwick High School, but I rode the streetcar forty-five minutes to Saint Ignatius.
  28. ^ Obaro, Tomi (December 16, 2014). "Gina Rodriguez is Conquering Television in Jane the Virgin". Chicago
  29. ^ Clark, Mike (July 11, 2023). "St. Ignatius lineman Justin Scott picks Ohio State". Chicago Sun-Times
  30. ^ HASTINGS, BRADFORD & NOVAK, BENJAMIN J. (March 1978). "Career Education in the College Preparatory School". Vocational Guidance Quarterly. 26 (3): 264–267. doi:10.1002/j.2164-585x.1978.tb01267.x. ISSN 0042-7764
  31. ^ "Todd H. Stroger Biography". Cook County Government. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  32. ^ "Former College Players Now in Spotlight of Baseball World". Sioux City Journal. February 18, 1912. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-12-20. – via Newspapers.com
  33. ^ Thomas, Mike (March 25, 2020). "ESPN's Michael Wilbon on Life Without Sports". Chicago
  34. ^ "GS: SI v Young 9-30-21". Chicagoland Soccer
  35. ^ Johnson, K. C. (2010-03-07). "From the archives: Even at 85, Johnny Bach still teaching the game he loves". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-06-06.

References