St. Ignatius College Preparatory

St. Ignatius was founded as a one-room schoolhouse on Market Street by Anthony Maraschi, a Jesuit priest, just after the California Gold Rush in 1855. Maraschi paid $11,000 for the property which was to become the original church and schoolhouse. The church opened on July 15, 1855, and three months later, on October 15, the school opened its doors to its first students.

SI was the high school division of what later became the University of San Francisco, but it has since split from the university and changed locations five times due to the growth of the student body and natural disaster. In the 1860s, the school built a new site, adjacent to the first, on Market Street in downtown San Francisco. In 1880, SI moved its campus to a location on Van Ness Avenue in the heart of San Francisco, and by 1883, SI had become the largest Jesuit school in the nation.[3]

Within 26 years of the relocation, however, St. Ignatius would be completely destroyed. Though the school would survive the tremors of the 1906 earthquake with only moderate damage, the subsequent fires destroyed the school and church, forcing SI to find a new location near Golden Gate Park, a hastily constructed "temporary" wooden building, affectionately known as the "Shirt Factory", which housed the school for more than 20 years, from 1906 to 1929.[3]

In 1927, the high school was separated from the university, becoming St. Ignatius High School. Two years later, SI relocated its campus once more, this time to Stanyan Street, where it remained for 40 years. In the fall of 1969, Father Harry Carlin moved SI to its current Sunset District campus, whereupon the current name, St. Ignatius College Preparatory, was adopted.[4]

Though founded as an all-boys school, SI became coeducational in 1989 and is home to over 1,400 male and female students. The school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2005.[3]

In 2004 the faculty was one of 12 schools nationwide to be honored by Today's Catholic Teacher magazine for excellence and innovation in education.[5]

St. Ignatius offers honors courses and Advanced Placement classes.

The school has 66 athletic teams with over 70% of students participating. The Wildcats generally participate in the Western Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) in the Central Coast Section of California, though for some sports teams belong to other leagues.

The men's rowing team won the US Rowing Youth National Championships in 1997, 2005, and 2006.[6] In addition, the crew competed in the Henley Royal Regatta in England, where St. Ignatius won Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 2006.[7]

The boys' lacrosse team won the state championship and was ranked nationally in 2008, 2013, 2015, and 2017. The Cats have won the WCAL Championship 14 years in a row. In 2017 the Wildcats finished ranked #5 nationally with a 19–2 record, beating #6 ranked Chaminade, NY and #14 ranked Gonzaga, D.C. St. Ignatius has a powerhouse lacrosse program, known nationwide for sending student athletes to Ivy League and ACC schools.[8]

The school's men's soccer team has been nationally ranked by ESPN. The boys won the WCAL championship in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2019, and the CCS championship in 2009, 2017, and 2018. They won the inaugural Northern California championship in 2018, and were ranked #2 nationally to end the season.[9]

The women's soccer team has also been quite successful, as the reigning WCAL champions. The team went undefeated in league play to capture the 2019 WCAL crown.[10]

The SI football team was WCAL champions in 1967, 2006, and 2019, as well as CCS Division III champions in 2006 and 2011. In 2012 St. Ignatius placed first in the WCAL and competed in the CCS Division I playoffs.

SI Swimming – 2014 Boys placed 3rd CCS Div I and had a 200 Free Relay team break the CCS Record and then was ranked 10th nationally in the All-American rankings. 2015 Placed 4th in CCS Div I with a CCS champion in the 200 Freestyle, who place also 6th at the Inaugural California State Championship.

The men's and women's cross country teams recently won the 2019 CCS Division III Championship, while the men's water polo team won the Division II Championship, as well as a Northern California Championship.

The field hockey team has experienced much success over the past few years, making history this year by advancing to the CCS semifinals.

Jerry Brown

Darren Criss

• Jerry Brown, 1955 – 32nd and 39th Governor of California[12]
• Luke Brugnara, businessman, casino mogul.
• Daniel J. Callaghan – Medal of Honor recipient
• William Callaghan,[13] 1914 – military, first commanding officer of USS Missouri (BB-63)
• Robert Francis Christian, O.P. – former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
• Darren Criss, 2005 – musician, actor, singer-songwriter, composer
• Bradford Dillman - actor
• Richard Egan – actor
• Mark Farrell – mayor of San Francisco (2018)
• Dan Fouts, 1969 – NFL Pro Bowl quarterback, played for the San Diego Chargers. NFL Hall of Fame[14]
• John Paul Getty, Jr. – philanthropist
• Gordon Getty – billionaire and businessman
• Francis Jue – actor
• Derek Lam – fashion designer
• Al Madrigal – comedian (Daily Show)
• Stephen McFeely - American screenwriter and producer
• Levy Middlebrooks – former professional basketball player
• Nicholas Miller, 2009 – Professional DJ
• John Joseph Montgomery – aviation pioneer
• George Moscone – former mayor of San Francisco
• Igor Olshansky, 2000 – NFL football player, defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins[15]
• Paul Otellini – President and CEO of Intel
• Bob Portman – Creighton University basketball player, NBA player – Golden State Warriors
• Dutch Ruether – Major League Baseball pitcher in three World Series
• Dan Salvemini – professional soccer player and member of 1980 US Olympic team
• Kevin Shelley, 1973 – California Secretary of State from 2003 to 2005
• Bartlett Sher – Tony Award-winning stage director, known for directing the 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific
• George Stanley – award-winning poet and member of the San Francisco Renaissance
• Jacqueline Toboni, 2010 - American actress
• Laurence Yep, 1966 – author

• San Francisco high schools

• St. Ignatius College Preparatory website