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Conference | Illinois High School Association |
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No. of teams | 18 |
Region | Chicago, Illinois |
The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some of the schools are coeducational institutions, the conference only supports athletics for male teams. (The Girls Catholic Athletic Conference serves as its female counterpart.)
The CCL is perhaps best known for its success in football, water polo, wrestling, and baseball. Since the Illinois High School Association began a state football tournament in 1974, the CCL has placed first or second more than any conference or league in the state. Since 2002 when the IHSA first sponsored a state tournament in water polo, the CCL has not failed to win the state title for boys, until Lyons in 2012. Since 1984, when the IHSA moved to a dual-team state series in wrestling (previously, the team champion was based on the advancement of individuals in the individual state tournament), the CCL has also finished first or second more than any conference or league.
The conference's alumni include stars of the past like Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Lattner, Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Denny McLain and Basketball Hall of Fame member Moose Krause and more contemporary athletes such as former NBA player Corey Maggette and All-Pro quarterback Donovan McNabb, Antoine Walker. Perhaps the conference's most accomplished alumnus[according to whom?] is Duke University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.