Central Massachusetts Conference
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The Central Massachusetts Conference is a high school athletic conference located in District 2 of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. All of the schools in the conference are Catholic Schools located in the Worcester County of Massachusetts. St. Bernard's Football and Ice Hockey teams are part of the Catholic Central League.[1]
The current iteration of the conference was founded in 1975[2] with schools Fitchburg, Gardner, Holy Name, Leominster, St. Bernard's, St. John's, St. Peter's (which would become St. Peter-Marian a year later after merging with Marian High), and Wachusett.[3] It wasn't long until members began leaving however, Gardner being the first to go join the massive Wachusett League in the fall of 1980.[4] The conference remained stable for the better half of the decade until 1988, when Fitchburg, Leominster and Wachusett all left for the Midland League.[5] By now, all schools had dwindling enrollment sizes except for St. John's who was easily overpowering the others in athletics. This led to St. John's leaving for the Catholic Conference in 2021.[6]
| School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Year Founded | Enrollment[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame Academy | Worcester, Massachusetts | Rebels | Green & Gold | 1951 | 243 |
| St. Bernard's High School | Fitchburg, Massachusetts | Bernardians | Blue & Gold | 1920 | 187 |
| St. Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High School | Worcester, Massachusetts | Knights | Black & Gold | 2020/1942* | 486 |
*St. Paul Diocesan was originally founded as Holy Name High school in 1942. In 2020 it merged with Saint Peter-Marian High School to become St. Paul Diocesan
Former Members
[edit]| School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Year Left | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg High School | Fitchburg, Massachusetts | Red Raiders | Red & Gray | 1989 | Midland Wachusett League |
| Gardner High School | Gardner, Massachusetts | Wildcats | Orange & Black | 1980 | Midland Wachusett League |
| Leominster High School | Leominster, Massachusetts | Blue Devils | Blue & White | 1989 | Midland Wachusett League |
| Saint John's High School | Shrewsbury, Massachusetts | Pioneers | Red & White | 2021 | Catholic Conference |
| Wachusett Regional High School | Holden, Massachusetts | Mountaineers | Green & White | 1989 | Midland Wachusett League |
State Championships
[edit]This is a list of MIAA state championships won by schools while a part of the Central Mass Conference
Note: From 1972 to 2012, football state championships were separated by region, so there would be multiple champions from each division. From 1972 to 1977 and from 1997 to 2008, it was split between Eastern Mass and Central/Western Mass and there would be two champions in each division. From 1978 to 1996 and from 2009 to 2012 Central and Western Mass split so there would be three champions in each division. In 2013 everything was combined and therefore only allowed one state champion per division.
- St. John's - 1977, 2001, 2004 D1 Central/Western; 1985, 1988, 2001 D1 Central; 2005, 2006 D1AA Central/Western; 2017 D3
- Leominster - 1978, 1981, 1982, D1 Central
- St. Peter-Marian - 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 D2 Central
- Holy Name - 2005, 2006 D2 Central/Western; 2008 D1A Central/Western
- St. Bernard's - 2018, 2019 D8
Boys
[edit]- Gardner - 1976 D1
- St. John's - 1992, 2017 D1
Boys
[edit]- Leominster - 1978 D1
- St. John's - 1985, 2007 D1
Girls
[edit]- St. Peter-Marian - 1999 (Co-Champs with Oliver Ames High School) D2
- St. John's - 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2023
- Notre Dame Academy - 1992, 2002, 2003, 2005 D1
Boys
[edit]- St. Bernard's - 1988 D2
- St. John's - 2000, 2009 D1
Girls
[edit]- St. Peter-Marian - 1984 D1
Boys
[edit]- Fitchburg - 1978 Class C
Boys
[edit]- St. John's - 1999, 2004 D1
Boys
[edit]- St. John's - 2007
- St. John's - 1976, 2002 D1
- St. Peter-Marian - 1977, 1987 D1
- St. Peter-Marian - 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 2015 D1
- Leominster - 1987 D1
Boys
[edit]- St. John's - 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 D1
References
[edit]- ^ a b https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-06/miaa-league-directory.pdf
- ^ Bause, Rick (April 2, 1975). "Red and Gray Ready to Play". Fitchburg Sentinel. p. 8.
- ^ Newell, Gordon (December 6, 1975). "Leominster Five opens Dec. 17". Fitchburg Sentinel. p. 6.
- ^ "GHS Eleven Trounced in Home Opener". Athol Daily News. September 20, 1979. p. 6.
- ^ "Standings: League, Overall". The Boston Globe. October 4, 1988. p. 81.
- ^ Garven, Rich. "Right time arrives for St. John's move". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ^ "National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, part of the U.S. Department of Education". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-football.pdf
- ^ a b https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-track-cross-country.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-soccer.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-10/2024-fall-golf-program.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-11/fieldhockey-2024-state-finals-program.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-04/miaa-state-champions-basketball.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-ice-hockey_0.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-ski.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-baseball.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-softball.pdf
- ^ https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-tennis.pdf
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