Colonial League
The Colonial League is an athletic conference consisting of 14 high schools mostly from the Lehigh Valley portion of eastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It is part of District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The Colonial League is designed for mid and small-size schools in the Lehigh Valley. Larger schools in the region compete in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.
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| Formation | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Association |
| Purpose | Athletic/Educational |
Region served | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania |
Membership | 14 schools |
Official language | English |
President | Bryan Geist |
Parent organization | PIAA |
| Affiliations | PIAA District XI |
| Website | colonialleague.org |
| Remarks | (610) 767 – 9840 |
History
In 1975, nine schools from the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania merged to form the Colonial League. Since then, a total of five teams have joined the league, with one team leaving.
Charter members
The Colonial League was founded in 1975, with the following teams as charter members.
- Bangor Slaters
- Catasauqua Rough Riders
- Nazareth Blue Eagles
- Palisades Pirates
- Pen Argyl Green Knights
- Salisbury Falcons
- Saucon Valley Panthers
- Southern Lehigh Spartans
- Wilson Warriors
These schools were originally either part of the Lehigh Valley League, or the Lehigh-Northampton League for interscholastic activities. As years went on, the member schools of these leagues became much different in size. The smaller schools of each league broke away and formed the Colonial League. Other schools became members of the Centennial League or the East Penn Conference.
1994 Additions
The following teams moved from the neighboring Centennial League in 1994.
- Northern Lehigh Bulldogs
- Northwestern Lehigh Tigers
- Notre Dame Green Pond Crusaders
- Palmerton Blue Bombers
1994 Departure
In 1994, the Nazareth Blue Eagles decided to leave the Colonial League to compete with larger schools from the Lehigh Valley in the Mountain Valley Conference. Since then, they joined the Lehigh Valley Conference in 2001 and its successor conference, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, in 2014.
2014 Additions
The following schools were formerly associate members of the Colonial League; they participated in a number of sports, with some in league play and others as independent status. In time for the 2014–15 sports seasons, they were promoted to a full-time membership.
- Moravian Academy Lions
2014 Departure
The following school was offered to change its associate member status to full-time membership for the 2014-15 season, but declined. To accept full membership would have meant this small traditionally single-A school would be required to play all sports at the AA level. In the best competitive interest of the students the offer was declined.
- Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg Spartans