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The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the
* Seth F. Van Patten (1913–1951)
* William W. Russell (1951–1954)
* J. Kenneth Fagans (1954–1975)
* Thomas E. Byrnes (1975–1980)
* Ray J. Plutko (1980–1986)
* Stan Thomas (1986–1993)
* Dean Crowley (1993–1999)
* James Staunton, Ed.D. (1999–2011)
* Rob Wigod (2011–2023)
* Mike West (2023–present)
The Southern Section was the outgrowth of a track and field meet. The Southern Section was founded on
March 29, 1913, when a group of high school officials joined forces to conduct a track championship meet. Seth F. Van Patten, who served as Track Manager for the Southern Section in 1913 and is recognized as
the founding father of the CIF-SS, served in that post until 1928 when he was officially named Secretary of the organization. He
served as Commissioner until his retirement in 1951.
On March 28, 1914, the Southern Section came under the administrative wing of the newly founded California Interscholastic
Federation, and has since grown into one of the most progressive and respected organizations of its kind in the world.
CIF-SS archives date back over 100 years!
Despite its lengthy history, the Southern Section lists just 10 Commissioners (the term Secretary dropped) with William Russell
holding the post from 1951 to 1954, J. Kenneth Fagans being the administrative head from 1954 until his retirement in early 1975,
Thomas E. Byrnes accepting the Commissioner's post in 1975, while Ray Plutko served from 1980 to 1986. Stan Thomas served as
Commissioner from July, 1986 to October, 1993 when Dean Crowley was appointed Acting Commissioner and was Commissioner of
Athletics from July, 1994 until his retirement in September, 1999. James Staunton Ed.D., served as Commissioner from September
1, 1999, until his retirement on July 31, 2011. Rob Wigod began his service as Commissioner on August 1, 2011, after having served as Assistant Commissioner for 11 years, before retiring on August 1, 2023.
The “home” of the Southern Section has a varied history. At the outset, basements, surplus school rooms and even
the homes of secretaries served as the official office. South Pasadena High School graciously permitted the use of one of its rooms
during the 1930s, with Oneonta School and South Pasadena High School serving as the home office from 1942 until 1949. There was a period of time the office was in the home of Commissioner Seth Van Patten. Still without an official office, the Southern Section moved its supplies to Helms Hall, a bakery in Culver City in 1949 and remained at the Venice
Blvd. site until 1959. It was in February of that year that the Southern Section built its first ever administration office,
located on the corners of Carmona and West Washington in Los Angeles. As membership grew and the Sections’ population center
moved, so did the CIF-SS office. In 1965, the Section office built and moved into its third home and second devoted strictly to the
CIF-SS day-to-day operations. That space was located next to Gahr High School on Artesia Blvd. in the city of Cerritos. That remained the home base of the
section until October 2003 when the ever-expanding membership required a larger facility. Thus, the new and current administrative
home became the Pine Street location in Los Alamitos.
The California Interscholastic Federation, Southern Section, is a non-profit corporation organized to direct and control both boys
and girls athletics in the secondary schools within the Section. The Southern Section is administered on a day-to-day basis by the
Commissioner, five Assistant Commissioners, a chief Financial Officer, a Marketing Manager and a staff of eight support personnel. The Southern Section is not
only the oldest, but the largest of 10 such sections in the state—its membership has grown from an original 30 schools to over 560+
schools and from 5 leagues to almost 90 leagues.
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...
(CIF). Its membership includes most public and private high schools in Orange, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and central and southern Santa Barbara counties. Teams from the Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
(LAUSD) and surrounding areas have competed in the CIF Los Angeles City Section since 1935. CIF-SS's offices are located in Los Alamitos.
Founded in 1913, the CIF Southern Section includes over 560 member public and private high schools and is by far the largest CIF section. Three of the ten CIF sections are individual current or former public school districts (Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland). The Southern Section's membership includes all private schools located within the service area of the LAUSD, which includes almost all of the city of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
plus some adjacent areas outside the city limits. If the CIF Southern Section were a state association, it would be the 10th largest in the United States.
For its first year of operation, the organization was called the Southern California Interscholastic Athletic Council (SCIAC). That acronym was taken over by the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1915 after the Southern Section name was established. CIF was officially formed in 1914 and became statewide in 1917. The service area was larger, encompassing what is now the CIF Los Angeles City Section, which broke off in 1935, and the CIF San Diego Section which broke off in 1960. Imperial County was once part of the section as well, but broke off in 2000 to join the San Diego Section. At various points in time, schools in Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, and Tijuana
Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
, Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
, Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, were part of the section.
Commissioners
* Seth F. Van Patten (1913–1951)
* William W. Russell (1951–1954)
* J. Kenneth Fagans (1954–1975)
* Thomas E. Byrnes (1975–1980)
* Ray J. Plutko (1980–1986)
* Stan Thomas (1986–1993)
* Dean Crowley (1993–1999)
* James Staunton, Ed.D. (1999–2011)
* Rob Wigod (2011–2023)
* Mike West (2023–present)
History
The Southern Section was the outgrowth of a track and field meet. The Southern Section was founded on
March 29, 1913, when a group of high school officials joined forces to conduct a track championship meet. Seth F. Van Patten, who served as Track Manager for the Southern Section in 1913 and is recognized as
the founding father of the CIF-SS, served in that post until 1928 when he was officially named Secretary of the organization. He
served as Commissioner until his retirement in 1951.
On March 28, 1914, the Southern Section came under the administrative wing of the newly founded California Interscholastic
Federation, and has since grown into one of the most progressive and respected organizations of its kind in the world.
CIF-SS archives date back over 100 years!
Despite its lengthy history, the Southern Section lists just 10 Commissioners (the term Secretary dropped) with William Russell
holding the post from 1951 to 1954, J. Kenneth Fagans being the administrative head from 1954 until his retirement in early 1975,
Thomas E. Byrnes accepting the Commissioner's post in 1975, while Ray Plutko served from 1980 to 1986. Stan Thomas served as
Commissioner from July, 1986 to October, 1993 when Dean Crowley was appointed Acting Commissioner and was Commissioner of
Athletics from July, 1994 until his retirement in September, 1999. James Staunton Ed.D., served as Commissioner from September
1, 1999, until his retirement on July 31, 2011. Rob Wigod began his service as Commissioner on August 1, 2011, after having served as Assistant Commissioner for 11 years, before retiring on August 1, 2023.
The “home” of the Southern Section has a varied history. At the outset, basements, surplus school rooms and even
the homes of secretaries served as the official office. South Pasadena High School graciously permitted the use of one of its rooms
during the 1930s, with Oneonta School and South Pasadena High School serving as the home office from 1942 until 1949. There was a period of time the office was in the home of Commissioner Seth Van Patten. Still without an official office, the Southern Section moved its supplies to Helms Hall, a bakery in Culver City in 1949 and remained at the Venice
Blvd. site until 1959. It was in February of that year that the Southern Section built its first ever administration office,
located on the corners of Carmona and West Washington in Los Angeles. As membership grew and the Sections’ population center
moved, so did the CIF-SS office. In 1965, the Section office built and moved into its third home and second devoted strictly to the
CIF-SS day-to-day operations. That space was located next to Gahr High School on Artesia Blvd. in the city of Cerritos. That remained the home base of the
section until October 2003 when the ever-expanding membership required a larger facility. Thus, the new and current administrative
home became the Pine Street location in Los Alamitos.
The California Interscholastic Federation, Southern Section, is a non-profit corporation organized to direct and control both boys
and girls athletics in the secondary schools within the Section. The Southern Section is administered on a day-to-day basis by the
Commissioner, five Assistant Commissioners, a chief Financial Officer, a Marketing Manager and a staff of eight support personnel. The Southern Section is not
only the oldest, but the largest of 10 such sections in the state—its membership has grown from an original 30 schools to over 560+
schools and from 5 leagues to almost 90 leagues.
Sports
CIF-SS sponsors the following sports:Fall Season
*American Football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
(11-person) (divided into 14 divisions)
* 8-person football (2 divisions)
* Competitive Traditional Cheer
* Cross country (5 divisions)
*Field Hockey
Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
*Girls Flag Football
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...
*Girls Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(9 divisions)
*Girls Tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
(6 divisions)
*Boys Water Polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
(7 divisions)
*Girls Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
(4 divisions)
Winter Season
* BoysBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
(10 divisions)
* Girls Basketball (10 Divisions)
*Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
(Boys and Girls) (7 divisions)
*Girls Water Polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
(7 divisions)
*Boys Wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
(7 Divisions)
* Girls Wrestling (7 divisions)
Spring Season
*Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
(9 Divisions)
*Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
*Boys Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
(7 Divisions)
*Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
*Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
(Boys and Girls) (3 Divisions)
*Softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
(7 Divisions)
*Swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
(Boys and Girls - 4 Divisions)
*Boys Tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
(6 Divisions)
*Track and Field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
(Boys and Girls - 4 Divisions)
*Boys Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(6 Divisions)
*Girls Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
(2 Divisions)
*Girls Stunt Cheer (1 Divisions)
Leagues
* 605 League * Academy League * Agape/Cross Valley Conference * Agape League * Almont League * Ambassador League * Angelus League (football only) * Arrowhead League * Arrowhead Athletic Conference * Baseline League * Bay League * Big VIII League * Camino Del Rey Association * Camino Real League * Century Conference * Channel League * Citrus Belt League * Citrus Coast League *Coast Valley League
The Coast Valley League is a high school athletic conference that is affiliated with the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS). As of the 2020–21 school year, members are small schools located in San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo, Santa ...
* Coast View Conference
* Coastal League
* Coastal Canyon League
* Condor League
* Crestview League
* Cross Valley League
* Del Rey League
* Del Rio League
* Desert Empire League
* Desert Sky League
* Desert Valley League
* Empire League
* Express League
* Foothill League
* Freeway League
* Frontier League
* Gateway League
* Garden Grove League
* Gold Coast League
* Golden League
* Golden West League
* Hacienda League
* Heritage League
* Independence League
* Inland Valley League
* International Conference
* International League
* Ivy League
* Liberty League
* Liberty Conference
* Los Angeles Athletic Association
* Majestic League
* Marmonte League
* Mid-Cities League
* Miramonte League
* Mission League
* Mission Valley League
* Mojave River League
* Montview League
* Moore League
* Mountain Pass League
* Mountain Valley League
* Mt. Baldy League
* Mulholland League
* National League
* North Hills League
* Ocean League
* Olympic League
* Omega League
* Orange League
* Orange Coast League
* Pacific League
The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...
* Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...
* Pacific Hills League
* Pacific Valley League
* Pacific View League
* Pioneer League
* Palomares League
* Prep League
* Raincross Conference
* Rio Hondo League
* River Valley League
* San Andreas League
* San Joaquin League
* Santa Fe League
* Sea View League
* Serra League
* Skyline League
* Soledad League
* South Coast League
* South Valley League
* Southwestern League
* Sunbelt League
* Suburban Valley Conference
* Sunkist League
* Sunset Conference
* Sunset League
* Sunshine League
* Surf League
* Trinity League
* Tri-County Athletic Association
* Tri-County Premier
* Tri-Valley League
* Valle Vista League
* Victory League
* Wave League
* Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington.
Due to ...
* Western League
Source
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cif Southern Section High school sports in California Organizations based in California Sports organizations established in 1913 High school sports associations in the United States Sports governing bodies in the United States California Interscholastic Federation sections 1913 establishments in California