The Metro Catholic Conference (MCC) is a

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 ...

athletic conference in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

History

Until the founding of the MCC in 1991, the "Big Five" all-male high schools in the St. Louis area had never been in one conference at the same time, despite all having enjoyed long athletic traditions. While the schools had competed in several previous leagues—namely the Prep League, Bi-State Athletic Conference, and Catholic Athletic Conference—those conferences had all dissolved, due to declining numbers of member schools, logistical hurdles in having conferences with both

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

schools, and differences of opinion between Archdiocese-run schools and those run by religious orders. Since the MCC's formation, levels of competition have increased, schools have expanded their facilities, and in general the league has positioned itself as one of the state's most competitive high school competitions.

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

has long been the dominant sport among MCC schools; while several schools have had competitive football teams (including state championships won by DeSmet in 2005 and 2019, and CBC in 2014, 2017, and 2018), it has been "the beautiful game" where the MCC has excelled. It is not uncommon for even the league's two smallest schools, Chaminade and Vianney, to field four teams, such is the popularity of soccer among their students. In fact, there has been only one season—2000—where the Missouri "Show-Me Cup" final did not feature at least one MCC team. In addition,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

has become another popular sport among the schools, spearheaded by CBC's record winning streak from 2002 to 2006, where they won more than 130 consecutive games. Sports offered by all MCC schools include: (fall) football, soccer, cross-country, swimming; (winter) hockey, basketball, wrestling, racquetball; (spring) golf, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, water polo, volleyball, rugby union, and baseball.

Members

Rivalries

Traditionally, a big rivalry in the MCC was between SLUH and CBC, which until CBC's move in 2003 saw the schools located three and a half miles apart from each other (SLUH on Oakland Avenue in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis City, CBC on Clayton Road in the neighboring suburb of Clayton). Until the stadium's remodeling into a baseball-only park, the schools would play their annual football contest at

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League b ...

, joined in latter years by another rivalry: Chaminade-Vianney, the two

Marianist The Society of Mary ( la, Societas Mariae) abbreviated SM is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (brothers and priests) commonly called the Marianists or Marianist Brothers and Priests. Its members add the nominal l ...

schools in the league. Similar to the CCP-Vianney rivalry, SLUH maintained a grudge with its fellow

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

institution, DeSmet.

References

{{reflist High school sports conferences and leagues in the United States Missouri high school athletic conferences Catholic sports organizations 1991 establishments in Missouri Sports leagues established in 1991

History

Members

Rivalries

See also

References