The Colonial League is an athletic conference consisting of 14
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
s mostly from the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
portion of eastern
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It is part of
District XI of the
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The PIAA's main ...
. The Colonial League is designed for mid and small-size schools in the Lehigh Valley. The largest 18 schools in the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
and
Pocono region compete in the
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (known informally as EPC, EPC18 and East Penn Conference) is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono M ...
, one of the premiere athletic divisions in the nation.
History
In 1975, nine schools from the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
region of eastern
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
merged to form the Colonial League. Since then, a total of five teams have joined the league, with one team leaving.
Charter members
The Colonial League was founded in 1975, with the following teams as charter members:
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Bangor Area High School
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Catasauqua High School
Catasauqua High School is a public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.
As of 2021-22, the school had 498 students, according to National Center for Education S ...
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Nazareth Area High School
Nazareth High School is a public high school located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Nazareth Area School District and serves grades 9 through 12. Its mascot is the B ...
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Palisades High School
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Pen Argyl Area High School
Pen Argyl Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Pen Argyl Area School District. As of the 2021-22 school year, ...
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Salisbury High School
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Saucon Valley High School
Saucon Valley High School is a four-year public high school in Hellertown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is located at 2100 Polk Valley Road in Hellertown in Northampton County.
It is the only high school i ...
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Southern Lehigh High School
Southern Lehigh High School is a four-year public high school located in Center Valley, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Southern Lehigh School District.
As of the 2020-21 school ...
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Wilson Area High School
Wilson Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Wilson Area School District. The high school supports the residents ...
Prior to joining the Colonial League, these schools were part of the
Lehigh Valley Conference The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference, known informally as the Lehigh Valley Conference or LVC, was an athletic conference consisting of 12 of the largest high schools from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, ...
or the Lehigh-Northampton League for interscholastic activities. As years went on, the member schools of these leagues began to vary greatly in school sizes and athletic competition levels.. The smaller schools of each league broke away and formed the Colonial League while others became members of the Centennial League. Some joined the
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (known informally as EPC, EPC18 and East Penn Conference) is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono M ...
, which includes the Lehigh Valley's largest high schools and a very high level of athletic competition.
1994 additions and departure
In 1994,
Northern Lehigh High School
Northern Lehigh High School is a public high school located in Slatington, Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Northern Lehigh School District. Students in grades 9 through 12 from Slatington, Pennsylvania, Slatington, Walnutport, Penn ...
,
Northwestern Lehigh High School,
Notre Dame High School, and
Palmerton High School
Palmerton Area High School is a four-year public high school in Palmerton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Palmerton Area High School is the sole high school operated by Palmerton Area School District. In the 2021–2022 schoo ...
all joined the Colonial League.
Nazareth Area High School
Nazareth High School is a public high school located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Nazareth Area School District and serves grades 9 through 12. Its mascot is the B ...
in
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
, meanwhile, departed the Colonial League in 1994 to begin competing with larger
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
high schools in the
Lehigh Valley Conference The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference, known informally as the Lehigh Valley Conference or LVC, was an athletic conference consisting of 12 of the largest high schools from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, ...
, which later became the
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (known informally as EPC, EPC18 and East Penn Conference) is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono M ...
.
2014 addition and departure
In 2014,
Moravian Academy
Moravian Academy is a preschool through 12th-grade co-educational college preparatory school that predominantly serves students from the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Moravian Academy descended from the first school for girls in ...
in
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
joined the Colonial League and
Notre Dame High School in
East Stroudsburg departed it.
See also
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Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (known informally as EPC, EPC18 and East Penn Conference) is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono M ...
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Mountain Valley Conference
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PIAA District 11
District 11 (often referenced with the Roman Numerals District XI) of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) is an interscholastic athletic association in eastern Pennsylvania.
District XI is one of the PIAA's 12 districts a ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Pennsylvania high school sports conferences
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Carbon County, Pennsylvania
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Sports in the Lehigh Valley