The East Suburban Catholic Conference, which was established in 1974, will cease to exist after one more school year.
The ESCC will merge with the Chicago Catholic League and the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference in the 2026-27 school year.
“Both leagues are extremely competitive,” Thomas Schergen, the principal of De La Salle, said in a statement. “With the addition of these tradition-rich East Suburban Catholic institutions, we have set our respective conferences on a continued path of success, and continue to strengthen these premier Catholic athletic organizations.”
The ESCC and CCL joined forces in football in 2019 and the large, combined conference has been a success.
Benet, Carmel, Joliet Catholic, Marian Catholic, Marist, Nazareth, Notre Dame, St. Patrick and St. Viator will join the CCL and GCAC in 2026-27. Marmion is transitioning to co-ed and will also join the GCAC that school year. The additions raise the GCAC total to 24 schools and the CCL total to 26 schools.
“The ESCC’s legacy of academic and athletic success, as well as our standards for competitive excellence, alignclosely with the heritage of the Chicago Catholic League and Girls Catholic Athletic Conference,” said Dan Tully, the principal at Notre Dame. “Bringing our schools together will expand competitive opportunities based on geography and parity, while also maintaining long-standing rivalries for the benefit of our communities, teams, and student-athletes. As faith-based institutions, we strive to offer a comprehensive educational experience, along with high-quality co-curricular programming.”
The merger will allow many natural rivalries such as Brother Rice vs. Marist and Joliet Catholic vs. Providence to become conference games.
The Chicago Catholic League has been around since 1912 and the GCAC since 1974.
The new CCL
Aurora Central Catholic
Benet
Brother Rice
Carmel
De La Salle
DePaul Prep
Fenwick
IC Catholic
Joliet Catholic
Leo
Loyola
Marian Catholic
Marist
Marmion
Montini
Mount Carmel
Nazareth
Notre Dame
Providence
St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis
St. Ignatius
St. Laurence
St. Patrick
St. Rita
St. Viator
*Providence St. Mel is as associate member for boys basketball only.
The new GCAC
Aurora Central Catholic
Benet
Carmel
De La Salle
DePaul Prep
Fenwick
IC Catholic
Joliet Catholic
Loyola
Marian Catholic
Marist
Marmion
Montini
Mother McAuley
Nazareth
Providence
Resurrection
Rosary
St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis
St. Ignatius
St. Laurence
St. Viator
Trinity
