St. Xavier High School (Louisville)

St. Xavier High School, colloquially known as St. X, is a Catholic all-boys, college preparatory Xaverian school in Louisville, Kentucky. It is located in the Archdiocese of Louisville. St. Xavier was founded in 1864 by Br. Paul Van Gerwen, C.F.X.^[2]

Saint Xavier High School
Address
1609 Poplar Level Road Louisville , Kentucky 40217 United States
Coordinates	38°13′09″N 85°43′35″W / 38.2193°N 85.7265°W / 38.2193; -85.7265
Information
Type	Private, college-preparatory school
Motto	Latin: Numen Lumen^[citation needed] (Let God be our divine light.)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic Xaverian Brothers
Established	1864; 160 years ago (1864)
President	Paul Colistra
Principal	Amy Sample
Faculty	113.8 (on an FTE basis)^[1]
Gender	Male
Enrollment	1,275 (2019–20)^[1]
Average class size	20 students
Student to teacher ratio	11.2:1^[1]
Campus	Urban, 54 acres, 6 buildings
Color(s)	Green   Gold
Athletics	10 KHSAA Sports 4 Club Sports Intramurals
Athletics conference	Kentucky High School Athletic Association
Mascot	Tiger
Team name	The Saint Xavier Tigers
Rivals	Trinity High School
Website	www.saintx.com

The school is located at 1609 Poplar Level Road and is the only school in Kentucky that has received the Blue Ribbon of Excellence Award five times, the most recent of which was awarded in 2023. St. Xavier has also renovated the school grounds with Project X, an initiative to raise $28 million for new academic and athletic facilities. In total Project X raised $29.1 million for the school.^[3] In 2016, it was voted "Best Private High School" in the Louisville Magazine.^[4]

Athletics

St. Xavier has the largest enrollment of boys among Kentucky high schools,^[5][a] and had been the only school in Kentucky to have won a state championship in every Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA)-sanctioned sport open to boys before the KHSAA began sponsoring coeducational championships in bass fishing and archery in the early 21st century. St. Xavier is one of the most successful athletic programs in Kentucky, having won 172 boys' state championships across 13 different KHSAA sports.^[6] In 2005, St. Xavier was ranked #14 in "Sports Illustrated" Best High School Athletic Programs.^[7] In the 2009 fall semester, Saint X won all four fall sports.^[8][9] This is an unprecedented feat, taking home championships in soccer, football, cross country and golf.^[10]

The annual football game with traditional local rival Trinity High School at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium is promoted by the schools as the most-attended annual regular-season high school football game in the country, typically drawing over 35,000 fans.^[11] The largest crowd was 38,500 and the 2007 edition of the game had an announced attendance of 37,550.^[12] Both teams have also met in the KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl.^[13][14] As of 2018, St. Xavier has 12 state championships, with the last one being in 2009.^[15] In 2018, St. X announced that Kevin Wallace would be named new football head coach after Will Wolford announced that he would resign.^[16][17] The swim team has won thirty-one consecutive state swimming championships, a national record for consecutive state championships out of any sport. They have beat the record from a high school in the Hawaiian Islands .^[18] In addition to this, the swim team has captured 55 swimming state titles overall, which is a national record.^[19] The golf team has won the McDonald's Tournament of Champions national event multiple times and sent numerous golfers on to NCAA Division I colleges such as Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama, Wake Forest, Clemson, Cornell, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Purdue. In 2016, St. X made a 3-peat by winning its 21st title and joined Louisville Male High School to win more than 2 more titles.^[20]

As of 2018, the cross country team has won 6 of the last 7 State Championships,^[21] and was nationally ranked in the top 15 in 2012–13. In 2012, the team which consisted of 6 future NCAA DI athletes, qualified for and competed in Nike Cross Nationals, the only consensus national championship competition in all of American High School athletics. The Tigers placed 14th. In 2016, the cross country team was ranked 13th at the nationals.^[22] In addition, it won several titles along with Floyd Central at a Tiger Run meeting.^[23] The soccer team has won eight state championships since 2000,^[24] earning top 10 rankings in national polls while doing so.

The Tigers' football home of Brother Thomas More Page Stadium^[25] also hosts the Bellarmine Knights sprint football team, representing nearby Bellarmine University. The university began play in sprint football, a form of American football played under standard college rules but with player weights restricted to 178 pounds (81 kg), in the 2022 season.^[26]

Project X

Saint Xavier has done renovations with Project X. Project X first did renovations with a $3 million classroom.^[27] Project X also resulted in a new tennis facility, complete with concessions and seating for 300 spectators, a new baseball stadium and a new 6,100 seat football stadium, complete with two private suites, an 8-lane rubberized track, new space for offices and locker rooms. The Tigers opened the new baseball complex on March 26, 2007, with a 10–0 win over Meade County, opened the football stadium on August 24, 2007,^[28] with an 18–14 victory over Ballard and opened the 2,000 seat basketball arena with a 73–53 win over South Oldham on January 20, 2009.^[29]

With the conclusion of Project X, St. Xavier now boasts some of the best high school athletic facilities in the nation including an indoor golf facility on campus.^[30]

Notable alumni

Academics Michael Dorris, prominent novelist (The Broken Cord, The Yellow Raft in Blue Water) and scholar; The Broken Cord won 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction Rudy Rucker, computer scientist, mathematician, and science fiction author^[31] W. Kip Viscusi, economist Athletics Frank Beard, former PGA Tour golfer Clark Burckle, member of USA Swimming National Team Chris Burke, MLB player for Arizona Diamondbacks^[32] Ray Burse, Major League Soccer (MLS) goalkeeper for FC Dallas Paul Byrd, MLB pitcher for Boston Red Sox^[33] Bobby Curtis, Big East champion and NCAA All-American Cross Country, Track & Field athlete Lee Huber, All-American with Kentucky Wildcats, early professional with Akron Goodyear Wingfoots Dicky Lyons, former National Football League player for New Orleans Saints^[34] Mo Moorman, former NFL player for Kansas City Chiefs Bobby Nichols, professional golfer, winner of 1964 PGA Championship Scott Padgett, former NCAA champion with Kentucky Wildcats and NBA player; head coach at Samford University Will Rabatin, football player Lee Reherman, former American Gladiator, American football player, and actor Desmond Ridder, American football player Mike Silliman, Olympic gold medalist and NBA player Trey Sweeney, baseball player Bob Talamini, American football player Justin Thomas, professional golfer, winner of the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022 Will Wolford, former NFL player and owner of Louisville Fire; St. Xavier head football coach, 2013–2018

Business Boland T. Jones, entrepreneur and executive John C. Lechleiter, CEO of Eli Lilly and Company Paul C. Varga, former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Brown–Forman Entertainment and media Leo Burmester, actor Tom Cruise, actor (transferred before graduation)^[35] Bob Edwards, former Sirius XM Radio and National Public Radio host Carl Ellsworth, screenwriter (Red Eye and Disturbia, among others) William Mapother, actor Victor Mature, actor, 1940s and '50s film star Sean O'Bryan, actor Don Rosa, Eisner Award-winning writer and artist of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books Government Jared Bauman, American politician^[36] Frank W. Burke, former Democratic member of United States House of Representatives and mayor of Louisville Jack Conway, former Kentucky Attorney General and 2015 Democratic nominee for governor Romano Mazzoli, former Democratic member of United States House of Representatives Chris Seelbach, Cincinnati City Councilmember^[citation needed] William B. Stansbury, mayor of Louisville Justin R. Walker, United States district judge of the Western District of Kentucky^[37]

Musicians

• EST Gee, rapper
• Jim James, lead singer of My Morning Jacket

See also

• List of schools in Louisville, Kentucky

Footnotes

1. In the cited KHSAA enrollment listing, schools are organized from smallest enrollment to largest, without regard to whether a school is single-sex or coeducational. However, all listings include separate entries for enrollments of boys and girls.

References

1. "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for St Xavier High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
2. Staff. . Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
3. . Archived from the original on April 2, 2010.
4. Myers, Elizabeth (May 24, 2016). "Best of Louisville 2016 Finalists Announced". Louisville Magazine. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
5. "2018–2019 Audited School Enrollments (in size order)" (PDF). Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
6. "Saint Xavier: Tradition Unequaled". Retrieved January 23, 2017.
7. "Sports Illustrated: Best Prep Athletic Programs in the Nation". SportsOnTheSide. 1995–2005.
8. "St. Xavier 2009 Kentucky High School Football". Scoreboard KHSAA. 2009.
9. "St. Xavier 2009 Kentucky High School Boys Soccer". KHSAA Scoreboard Soccer. 2009.
10. Frakes, Jason (December 7, 2009). "St. X enjoys a fall sweep: Tigers win all 4 boys' state titles". Courier.
11. Patrick, Dick (September 21, 2005). "High school rivals are like family". USA Today. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
12. Karell, Daniel (September 30, 2016). "Top five most-attended St. X-Trinity games". usatodayhhs.com. USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
13. "Trinity beats St. Xavier in Class 6A final behind Rondale Moore's big game". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
14. "Flashback: St. Xavier vs. Trinity". WSTX Sports. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
15. "St. Xavier Football Year-by-Year Results". Max Preps.
16. "Kevin Wallace named new football coach at St. Xavier High School". courier journal. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
17. Frakes, Jason. "St. Xavier High School football coach Will Wolford steps down". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
18. Bittenbender, Steve. "title". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
19. Revel, Conor. "St. X swimming wins 30th straight state title and 54th overall". Catholic Sports Net. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
20. Moore, Josh. "Golf powerhouse St. Xavier three-peats at KHSAA state tournament". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
21. "KHSAA Cross Country Championship records" (Microsoft Word, PDF). KHSAA.
22. "St. Xavier cross country 13th at nationals". USA Today Hss. December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
23. "St. Xavier, Floyd Central take titles at Tiger Run cross country meet". Retrieved August 26, 2017.
24. "KHSAA Soccer Championship records" (Microsoft Word, PDF). KHSAA.
25. "Athletic Facilities". Saint Xavier High School. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
26. "Sprint football season preview: Knights ready for inaugural season" (Press release). Bellarmine Knights. September 15, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
27. "St. X wraps up $3 million classroom renovation project". Louisville Business Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
28. "St. Xavier 2007 Kentucky High School Baseball". Kentucky High School Athletic Association. 2007.
29. "St. Xavier 73 South Oldham 53". Max Preps. 2009.
30. "St. X adding indoor golf facility on campus". USA TODAY High School Sports. June 24, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
31. Rucker, Rudy. "Rudy Rucker's Biography". rudyrucker.com. from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
32. "Chris Burke Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
33. "Paul Byrd Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
34. "Dicky Lyons". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
35. Daly, Michael (July 9, 2012). "Tom Cruise Was on Track to Become a Priest in His Youth". Newsweek. from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
36. "About Jared". Vote Jared Bauman for State House. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
37. "Walker confirmed as federal judge for Western District of Kentucky". The Lane Report. October 29, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.

External links

• Official website