Inter-Academic League
FormerlyInteracademic Athletic Association
Founded1887; 137 years ago (1887)
No. of teams10
Headquarters[[, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania]]
RegionDelaware Valley,
Pennsylvania,
United States

The Inter-Academic League (officially known as the Inter-Academic Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity, commonly known as the Inter-Ac) is an inter-scholastic athletic conference. This high school sports league consists of selective private schools in the Philadelphia area.

History

The schools were organized into a conference early in 1887 when they came together as the Interacademic Athletic Association (the name was later shortened to its present configuration). Two initial sports offered by the league were football and track and field.

It was one of the earliest permanent interscholastic football leagues,[1] and the rivalry between Penn Charter and Germantown Academy is perhaps the oldest football rivalry in the country.[2]

Early members were Germantown Academy, Haverford Grammar, Penn Charter, De Lancey, Friends' Central School, Swarthmore High School, and Episcopal Academy. In the first decade after the turn of the century the league increased the number of sports, adding ice hockey, baseball, tennis, and basketball.[1]

Member schools

Boys' Members:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors
Episcopal Academy Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 1785 Episcopalianism 1,268 Churchmen    
Germantown Academy Fort Washington, Pennsylvania 1759 Nonsectarian 1,189 Patriots    
Haverford School Haverford, Pennsylvania 1884 Nonsectarian 1,013 Fords    
Malvern Preparatory School Malvern, Pennsylvania 1842 Catholicism 640 Friars    
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1861 Nonsectarian 1,080 Blue Devils    
William Penn Charter School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1689 Quakerism 960 Quakers    


Girls' Members:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur Radnor, Pennsylvania 1856 Catholicism 559 Irish    
Agnes Irwin School Rosemont, Pennsylvania 1869 Nonsectarian 606 Owls    
Baldwin School Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 1888 Nonsectarian 571 Bears    
Episcopal Academy Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 1785 Episcopalianism 1,268 Churchmen    
Germantown Academy Fort Washington, Pennsylvania 1759 Nonsectarian 1,189 Patriots    
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1861 Nonsectarian 1,080 Blue Devils    
William Penn Charter School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1689 Quakerism 960 Quakers    

References

  1. ^ a b Robert Pruter; Project Muse (2013). The Rise of American High School Sports and the Search for Control, 1880-1930. Syracuse University Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8156-5219-9.
  2. ^ Mike Sielski (1 September 2009). Fading Echoes: A True Story of Rivalry and Brotherhood from the Football Field to the Fields of Honor. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-101-13997-4.
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