Alabama splits Publics and Privates Football State Championships

FootballDad1979 · Jan 28, 2026

Here is an article from Michigan talking about the split in Alabama.

Split of Public Private High School Football Championships

The stands are packed, the band is loud, and the town has circled this game since August. Your team wins it all — a championship run that becomes legend. But then the argument hits: Was the path fair? That question has been debated in living rooms, locker rooms and message boards for decades...

catchmarksports.com

jha618 · Jan 28, 2026

FootballDad1979 said:
Here is an article from Michigan talking about the split in Alabama.

Split of Public Private High School Football Championships

The stands are packed, the band is loud, and the town has circled this game since August. Your team wins it all — a championship run that becomes legend. But then the argument hits: Was the path fair? That question has been debated in living rooms, locker rooms and message boards for decades...

catchmarksports.com

Not sure about Alabama. The best football programs in that state by far are public schools.

McCaravan · Jan 28, 2026

I used to be completely against it if Illinois did this but the growing hatred of private schools among what seems to be the majority of Public fans is becoming more and more frustrating each season. And playing both sides I can see why they might be frustrated. Despite how the game turned out I would miss the November hype up games like between MC and LWE this year, or LWE/LA the year before and countless other match ups over the years between Private and Public schools but I think splitting the two come playoff time would be a reasonable possibility. Careful what you wish for though....there will always be the "I wonder if they could have beaten them" talk that we will never be able to find out.

mc140 · Jan 28, 2026

McCaravan said:
I used to be completely against it if Illinois did this but the growing hatred of private schools among what seems to be the majority of Public fans is becoming more and more frustrating each season. And playing both sides I can see why they might be frustrated. Despite how the game turned out I would miss the November hype up games like between MC and LWE this year, or LWE/LA the year before and countless other match ups over the years between Private and Public schools but I think splitting the two come playoff time would be a reasonable possibility. Careful what you wish for though....there will always be the "I wonder if they could have beaten them" talk that we will never be able to find out.

I doubt 7a Depaul Prep worried about that when then they won 4a.

mc140 · Jan 28, 2026

jha618 said:
Not sure about Alabama. The best football programs in that state by far are public schools.

Texas is a state where privates can't really compete vs publics at any enrollment level. Not sure how many others are like that at all classifications. Probably close to zero.

4Afan · Jan 28, 2026

mc140 said:
Texas is a state where privates can't really compete vs publics at any enrollment level. Not sure how many others are like that at all classifications. Probably close to zero.

Probably why they're separated

johnndoe · Jan 28, 2026

Feeling fine, but running out of time on this earth to witness what a public/private playoff split would look like. Get it on the ballot and have the vote. I am already many years beyond the life expectancy for males from my year of birth. Would really like to see a couple or three seasons of a split.

Blacknight36 · Jan 29, 2026

I'd vote yes for a split.

The Cook · Jan 29, 2026

If there were less classes in Illinois, I'd be more open to separating them, but with 8 Classes, why not put the private schools in 4A, 6A, and 8A? Hell, even 4A and 8A

Doctor_D · Jan 29, 2026

mc140 said:
I doubt 7a Depaul Prep worried about that when then they won 4a.

I usually try to stay out of the private/public thing for various reasons, but they got into 4A due to the lazy two year enrollment IHSA rule. Good for them. Sometimes you need a few breaks to go your way - I guess.
Then when some of their fans had the audacity to come here and trash talk the small community schools they beat along the way (who had roughly half the actual un-multiplied enrollment of DePaul), it was a bit much.

Doctor_D · Jan 29, 2026

The Cook said:
If there were less classes in Illinois, I'd be more open to separating them, but with 8 Classes, why not put the private schools in 4A, 6A, and 8A? Hell, even 4A and 8A

If they ever were to split, I’d hope that they would not have 8 public classes.

SiuCubFan8 · Jan 29, 2026

I think overall it would be a negative for the sport across the state.
Is there an unintended consequence of the private schools becoming that much stronger, especially CCL, with even more kids going there instead of public schools. Or is that what public schools want, a watered down title(s)?

Doctor_D · Jan 29, 2026

SiuCubFan8 said:
I think overall it would be a negative for the sport across the state.
Is there an unintended consequence of the private schools becoming that much stronger, especially CCL, with even more kids going there instead of public schools. Or is that what public schools want, a watered down title(s)?

I think that the Chicagoland area private schools have already gotten much stronger (more teams that are very good to excellent) as compared to 20 or so years ago. Maybe I’m wrong. I do agree with your premise that a split could potentially cause even further shift, but I think that shift is already happening.

Cross Bones · Jan 29, 2026

I think what MC and LA have shown recently is that the ceiling is just much higher for open enrollments. The two school types are just not similar and there is no way to make them be. I hoped that the arms race wouldnt result in privates dominating the largest class, but alas.

Im in favor of 5 public and 2 private. Public done by enrollment, private done by some sort of competitive metric since enrollment doesnt really matter.

I also like an "NIT" for struggling programs so theh can get some games in with similar competition. No need to have 2-7 vs 7-2 in the opening round.

SiuCubFan8 · Jan 29, 2026

Doctor_D said:
I think that the Chicagoland area private schools have already gotten much stronger (more teams that are very good to excellent) as compared to 20 or so years ago. Maybe I’m wrong. I do agree with your premise that a split could potentially cause even further shift, but I think that shift is already happening.

Agree, this isn't an overnight thing with chicagoland private schools but it might accelerate even faster with a split. Just something I have been thinking about.

Colin2299 · Jan 29, 2026

Two questions:

1: What has happend to 7a/8a publics that aren't at the level they consistently used to be at and how has that impacted MC and Loyola's dominance in those classes?

Naperville Central
Naperville North
WWS
Wheaton North
Maine South
Lockport
Lake Zurich
Glenbard West
Stevenson
Prospect

2: If you divide public/private and private has (2) classes...there is no need for any multiplier or success factor because everyone has the same rules now. So....Montini, JCA, SHG, Naz, St Francis, etc would be in the lower division with the likes of Chicago Christian, Aurora Christian, Hope, Walther, Sterling Newman, etc? This is a good plan?

4Afan · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
Two questions:

1: What has happend to 7a/8a publics that aren't at the level they consistently used to be at and how has that impacted MC and Loyola's dominance in those classes?

Naperville Central

Naperville North

WWS

Wheaton North

Maine South

Lockport

Lake Zurich

Glenbard West

Stevenson

Prospect

2: If you divide public/private and private has (2) classes...there is no need for any multiplier or success factor because everyone has the same rules now. So....Montini, JCA, SHG, Naz, St Francis, etc would be in the lower division with the likes of Chicago Christian, Aurora Christian, Hope, Walther, Sterling Newman, etc? This is a good plan?

As far as #1 goes, I can't speak for all of those areas but the Naperville and Wheaton areas have far different demographics now. The people who raised their families and had boys play football 30 years ago are still living their but are now retired and their children are long gone. Those have become somewhat older communities now and the younger families that have moved in have children that have no intention of playing football.

For #2, I absolutely agree. At this point I have my thoughts, but ultimately couldn't care less if they separated public and privates. How do you separate them into only 2 classes? Does JCA get a first round game against Ottawa Marquette? Also, how many football playing private schools are there in Illinois? What about the downstate schools? Do SHG, Althoff, and QND just keep playing each other or do they have to make 4-5 trips a year to the burbs?

McCaravan · Jan 29, 2026

4Afan said:
As far as #1 goes, I can't speak for all of those areas but the Naperville and Wheaton areas have far different demographics now. The people who raised their families and had boys play football 30 years ago are still living their but are now retired and their children are long gone. Those have become somewhat older communities now and the younger families that have moved in have children that have no intention of playing football.

For #2, I absolutely agree. At this point I have my thoughts, but ultimately couldn't care less if they separated public and privates. How do you separate them into only 2 classes? Does JCA get a first round game against Ottawa Marquette? Also, how many football playing private schools are there in Illinois? What about the downstate schools? Do SHG, Althoff, and QND just keep playing each other or do they have to make 4-5 trips a year to the burbs?

Demographics is a huge point and I think you can pin point the facts that the Lincoln Way schools have had such success is because there was a mass flight from Chicago neighborhoods and they set up Camp in Frankfort and Mokena and hence the arrival of more Lincoln Way Schools and now all those families that moved out there 20 years ago have kids that around the high school ages now.

jacksam3 · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
Two questions:

1: What has happend to 7a/8a publics that aren't at the level they consistently used to be at and how has that impacted MC and Loyola's dominance in those classes?

Naperville Central

Naperville North

WWS

Wheaton North

Maine South

Lockport

Lake Zurich

Glenbard West

Stevenson

Prospect

2: If you divide public/private and private has (2) classes...there is no need for any multiplier or success factor because everyone has the same rules now. So....Montini, JCA, SHG, Naz, St Francis, etc would be in the lower division with the likes of Chicago Christian, Aurora Christian, Hope, Walther, Sterling Newman, etc? This is a good plan?

Am a California transplant, raised kids in Stevenson district. All out of school now and have since left the district. Son played in college and was on the 2014 State Championship Team.
Demographics in the area are 1000% what's happened. The district has arguably become the premier non-Charter public school in Illinois. When moved there in early 2000's- was a sports, football culture. Now has shifted to academics, and academic driven endeavors. Awesome for academics and correlated clubs/teams/activities. Sports like football- not so much...
They have pivoted to a School affiliated Jr. Patriots youth football program that is helping to restore the culture; but, the number of players just aren't there anymore- and top talent is transferring to more "prominent" programs. Heard top 3 rising soph's are leaving.

- Chess- won state 3 of last 4 years
- Scholastic Bowl - runner-up last year
- Girls badminton - 2 championships, 2 runner-ups last 4 years
- Math Team - 2 of last 3 championships
- National Championship - Science Olympiad 2023
- Robotics Teams state/nationally competitive
- Model UN is next level fantastic

Per Google:
Adlai E. Stevenson High School (District 125) in Lincolnshire, IL, has experienced a significant demographic shift over the past 15 years, moving from a predominantly White population to a highly diverse, majority-minority school. As of 2023–2025, the student body is roughly 40-45% White, 39-44% Asian, 8-9% Hispanic, and 2-3% Black, with growing multiracial representation.
Ethnicity Demographics Trends (Approximate 15-Year Span):

White: Has decreased significantly, dropping from over 80% (approx. 2010) to roughly 44–46%.
Asian: Has seen substantial growth, increasing from around 10-15% (approx. 2010) to nearly 40-44%.
Hispanic: Has seen a steady increase, rising from lower percentages to approximately 9%.
Black/Other: Consistently low, with Black students representing roughly 1.7-2%.

Current Demographic Snapshot (2025):

Asian: 44.6%
White: 40.8%
Hispanic: 8.6%
Two or More Races: 3.6%
Black: 1.9%
Other/MENA: ~0.5%

JCHillmen10 · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
Two questions:

1: What has happend to 7a/8a publics that aren't at the level they consistently used to be at and how has that impacted MC and Loyola's dominance in those classes?

Naperville Central

Naperville North

WWS

Wheaton North

Maine South

Lockport

Lake Zurich

Glenbard West

Stevenson

Prospect

2: If you divide public/private and private has (2) classes...there is no need for any multiplier or success factor because everyone has the same rules now. So....Montini, JCA, SHG, Naz, St Francis, etc would be in the lower division with the likes of Chicago Christian, Aurora Christian, Hope, Walther, Sterling Newman, etc? This is a good plan?

If there is separation, what happens to CPS open enrollment schools? The various U-Highs throughout the state? Are they public or nonboundaried? That question would have a drastic impact on how any classification breakdown can happen.

In looking at the enrollments of strictly football playing private schools, there just aren't a lot of big ones. I count St. Rita as the 13th largest FB playing private school in the state. Then there is the following....
14. Marmion
15. Naz
16. Viator
17. Providence
18. Marian
19. DLS
20. SF
21. Wheaton Academy
22. JCA
23. Boylan
24. Montini
25. SHG

I would think most people would realize Marian or DLS or Wheaton Academy being classified with Loyola or Brother Rice would not make for compelling postseason action.

I assume 2 private school classes would be 16 team brackets. Is 3 classes with 8-12 team brackets going to create a better postseason? I would argue yes. With 2 classes you get potential first round matchups of Marian vs MC or in the smaller classes Montini vs St Bede or SHG vs Ottawa Marquette. I would think a middle classification would be desireable for both the bigger and smaller schools.

Separation would be junky for all involved, but if it were to be done, I would have to imagine the private schools would insist on a third class.

KasanteMC · Jan 29, 2026

4Afan said:
As far as #1 goes, I can't speak for all of those areas but the Naperville and Wheaton areas have far different demographics now. The people who raised their families and had boys play football 30 years ago are still living their but are now retired and their children are long gone. Those have become somewhat older communities now and the younger families that have moved in have children that have no intention of playing football.

For #2, I absolutely agree. At this point I have my thoughts, but ultimately couldn't care less if they separated public and privates. How do you separate them into only 2 classes? Does JCA get a first round game against Ottawa Marquette? Also, how many football playing private schools are there in Illinois? What about the downstate schools? Do SHG, Althoff, and QND just keep playing each other or do they have to make 4-5 trips a year to the burbs?

Demographics have changed but more importantly the coaches that grew those powerhouses are gone ie Muhitch. Those programs are still decent but not as dominant.

The CCL on the other hand tradition and coaches that have come back ie. Lynch, Hopkins, and have been able to carry on and build upon their respective programs.

Roamin' Catholic · Jan 29, 2026

4Afan said:
For #2, I absolutely agree. At this point I have my thoughts, but ultimately couldn't care less if they separated public and privates. How do you separate them into only 2 classes? Does JCA get a first round game against Ottawa Marquette? Also, how many football playing private schools are there in Illinois? What about the downstate schools? Do SHG, Althoff, and QND just keep playing each other or do they have to make 4-5 trips a year to the burbs?

Ha wait, we talking "down south" private programs? Lol Since when...

QND's stance the last time this gained traction was to simply leave the IHSA. Never been told what the plan would be after they left though... But I'm all for it. Might pose the question ole Bill in the AD office next time I see him...

It's the IHSA.. what could go possibly go wrong?

Just here to supply 4Afan with the list of "other advantaged programs" for SHG, Althoff (and frankly the entirety of the "northern elite" small privates) to test their skills against annually. No better prep for the playoffs than taking a beating from Alton Marquette, my mom always said. I mean it's Holy cheater central down here... Hide your kids. The recruiting train starts it's regional route (Includes Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, and Kentucky of course) in early May. Supplying this list of pure champions with a seemingly endless supply of athletes 1.65% better than yours, public school football guy. Continue to "take that" suckers. "Hold thy L's" say the T-shirts at Routt. Yup, I bought one. I mean, in fairness, any team on this list could easily win any class, any year. That much is clear when deciphering the data...

(sarcasm, for the less fun among us)

I'll start with the most obvious candidate... obviously

Notre Dame (Quincy)
Routt (Jacksonville)
Marquette (Alton)
Central Catholic (Bloomington)
Mater Dei (Breese)
Notre Dame (Peoria)
St. Teresa (Decatur)
St. Bede (Peru)
Metro-East Lutheran (Edwardsville)
Marquette (Ottawa)

And, technically if including a few of these... Bishop McNamara (Kankakee) These guys never win though lol

The rest? Oh there is none, they play 8-man now like half or the majority of the schools in 1A likely should...

Follow up question...
Will this be including the Private-Pub-type (U-High's) of the HS FB landscape in Illinois also?
I doubt any of them win less than 3 state titles in a 10 year span anyways, similar to the list of absolute juggernauts I already supplied... But it feels worth asking...

Happy offseason, everyone. Enjoy your week!

Cross Bones · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
Two questions:

1: What has happend to 7a/8a publics that aren't at the level they consistently used to be at and how has that impacted MC and Loyola's dominance in those classes?

Naperville Central

Naperville North

WWS

Wheaton North

Maine South

Lockport

Lake Zurich

Glenbard West

Stevenson

Prospect

2: If you divide public/private and private has (2) classes...there is no need for any multiplier or success factor because everyone has the same rules now. So....Montini, JCA, SHG, Naz, St Francis, etc would be in the lower division with the likes of Chicago Christian, Aurora Christian, Hope, Walther, Sterling Newman, etc? This is a good plan?

Nothing happened. Its just being public. Before those publics were good there was a different batch. And Naperville C had a deep run last year. Locktucky and Maine South had deep runs this year. GBW is still GBW.

LA maintains a varsity roster of over 100 kids. Kids go to LA and MC to play football. Kids go to their local public because its their local public, and maybe a few kids that move in to play football.

Correct on part 2, kind of. Everyone has the same rules no need for multipliers or SF. Enrollments dont mean anything so you can do a selection committee if you want. JCA/Provi can play with Loyola/Marist.

Roamin' Catholic · Jan 29, 2026

Forgot Alleman... Sorry Alleman! We'll add them to the list of heathens taking all your football trophies.

Colin2299 · Jan 29, 2026

Cross Bones said:
Nothing happened. Its just being public. Before those publics were good there was a different batch. And Naperville C had a deep run last year. Locktucky and Maine South had deep runs this year. GBW is still GBW.

No, something absolutely happened.

Wheaton Warrenville South
2006 - won the 8A State Championship over Mt Carmel. WWS had an enrollment of 2454.00
2026 - had an enrollment of 1833.00 and played in 6A

Why is the enrollment down 621 kids?

SiuCubFan8 · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
No, something absolutely happened.

Wheaton Warrenville South
2006 - won the 8A State Championship over Mt Carmel. WWS had an enrollment of 2454.00
2026 - had an enrollment of 1833.00 and played in 6A

Why is the enrollment down 621 kids?

City demographics changed.

Cross Bones · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
No, something absolutely happened.

Wheaton Warrenville South
2006 - won the 8A State Championship over Mt Carmel. WWS had an enrollment of 2454.00
2026 - had an enrollment of 1833.00 and played in 6A

Why is the enrollment down 621 kids?

In 1996 their FBE was 2160 which means their actual enrollment was lower than that. Theyre being public, they dont control how many kids get let in. From 1980 to 87 they averaged 4.75 wins per year before they got good. Theyre just being public.

4Afan · Jan 29, 2026

Cross Bones said:
In 1996 their FBE was 2160 which means their actual enrollment was lower than that. Theyre being public, they dont control how many kids get let in. From 1980 to 87 they averaged 4.75 wins per year before they got good. Theyre just being public.

That's not necessarily true. FBE was whichever was greater between actual enrollment and average enrollment of opponents.

Colin2299 · Jan 29, 2026

Cross Bones said:
In 1996 their FBE was 2160 which means their actual enrollment was lower than that. Theyre being public, they dont control how many kids get let in. From 1980 to 87 they averaged 4.75 wins per year before they got good. Theyre just being public.

Warrenville population is up since 1990….3892 people. Wheaton is up too.

Wealth in the city is significantly up as well.
I don’t get it.

1990	11,333	50.7%
2000	13,363	17.9%
2010	13,140	−1.7%
2020	13,553	3.1%

2025 15,195

4Afan · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
Warrenville population is up since 1990….3892 people. Wheaton is up too.

Wealth in the city is significantly up as well.
I don’t get it.

1990 11,333 50.7%
2000 13,363 17.9%
2010 13,140 −1.7%
2020 13,553 3.1%

2025 15,195

Demographics, it's not hard. More Asian and Indian families. Absolutely nothing wrong with this, but it's not likely those kids are going out for football. Upper middle class to wealthy minority families leaving the city to move to the burbs is the difference.

Doctor_D · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
Warrenville population is up since 1990….3892 people. Wheaton is up too.

Wealth in the city is significantly up as well.
I don’t get it.

1990 11,333 50.7%
2000 13,363 17.9%
2010 13,140 −1.7%
2020 13,553 3.1%

2025 15,195

I’m sure there are multiple factors. It likely is mainly a demographic thing.

Cross Bones · Jan 29, 2026

4Afan said:
That's not necessarily true. FBE was whichever was greater between actual enrollment and average enrollment of opponents.

It was 2160.14 which tells me FBE increased their enrollment.

Colin2299 said:
Warrenville population is up since 1990….3892 people. Wheaton is up too.

Wealth in the city is significantly up as well.
I don’t get it.

1990 11,333 50.7%
2000 13,363 17.9%
2010 13,140 −1.7%
2020 13,553 3.1%

2025 15,195

None of that is relevant. The population goes up and down as does enrollment. They were also bad then good. Its called being a public school.

What were the demographics when they averaged 5 wins per season in the 70's?

AlabamaTimberwolf · Jan 29, 2026

Doctor_D said:
If they ever were to split, I’d hope that they would not have 8 public classes.

With Class A now what Large 2A used to be I can see going back to 6 classifications soone!~

Doctor_D · Jan 29, 2026

AlabamaTimberwolf said:
With Class A now what Large 2A used to be I can see going back to 6 classifications soone!~

If they gonna split pub and priv, it should be 5/3, 5/2, 4/3 or 4/2

Edit: can go an extra class for 8 man

McCaravan · Jan 29, 2026

Colin2299 said:
No, something absolutely happened.

Wheaton Warrenville South
2006 - won the 8A State Championship over Mt Carmel. WWS had an enrollment of 2454.00
2026 - had an enrollment of 1833.00 and played in 6A

Why is the enrollment down 621 kids?

Large families are, for the most part, a thing of the past. Used to be having at least 4 kids was common, now many families are having 2 and done.

Also with Wheaton, Wheaton St. Francis and Wheaton Academy have become good football options.

Wheaton North did win 7A in 2021. Knocking off Br Rice and St. Rita to win it all.

Doctor_D · Jan 29, 2026

I dont think the demographic thing should be poo pooed. It is just one of multiple examples of public schools being public schools. There are plenty of people that don’t want their kids to play and/or don’t give a damn about football and a lot of times that is cultural i.e. demographic.

What are the demographic %s of Wheaton or Aurora compared to the demographics of Wheaton St Francis, Wheaton Academy or Aurora Christian? I don’t know the answer - this is an honest question.

4Afan · Jan 29, 2026

McCaravan said:
Large families are, for the most part, a thing of the past. Used to be having at least 4 kids was common, now many families are having 2 and done.

Speak for yourself you horny catlick, lol. I don't think 4 kids was ever the norm.

McCaravan · Jan 30, 2026

4Afan said:
Speak for yourself you horny catlick, lol. I don't think 4 kids was ever the norm.

Well I did grow up in a Irish Catholic neighborhood! I'm 1 of 5!

GhostOfTheGhhost · Jan 30, 2026

At risk of being accused of starting something...

If a Public-Private split happens, I can't wait for the next argument for a Public-CPL split.

pjjp · Jan 30, 2026

In reading this thread, many have pointed that public school fortunes change based on demographics etc. It may be for different reasons, but I’d like to point out private school fortunes change as well. For instance, Loyola is going to have a tough time competing with MC and Rice for the foreseeable future. I’m not close enough to LA to know what’s changed. I know Rice has gotten a lot better. But, an informed CCL observer could see LA’s prospects changing due to much less team success on the lower levels. How long will LA be “down”? No idea.

Alabama splits Publics and Privates Football State Championships

Junior

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

Senior

Freshman

Sophomore

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

Junior

All-Conference

All-American

Redshirt

Sophomore

Redshirt

Junior

All-Conference

Junior

Junior

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

Junior

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

Senior

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference