2025 IAC and WCAC Playoffs Results and Commentary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The IAC is falling apart. GP is gonna do what they think is best for the school and moving them towards their goal of being the top boarder and day school in the mid atlantic.

Where in the world did you get this from "towards their goal of being the top boarder and day school in the Mid-Atlantic."?

No one at Prep has ever had this as a goal.

What they want to do is to continue to pay the bills for a large and expensive faculty and staff, the Taj Mahal-level facilities and a healthy yearly contribution to the Jesuit Province. To do this, they have to compete with Gonzaga and St John's for Catholic Day students. Both these schools are larger and less expensive and offer generally stronger athletic programs.

Lacrosse brings in a handful of frequently full-pay kids each year. All they need to do is to be competitive in the IAC, not dominant.

Every communication at GP is about being the best boarder and day school. They aren't interested in being competitive and besides football and basketball, GP probably has better overall sports than GZ and SJC. They are trying like crazy in hoops and only the enrollment is keeping them from being more competitive in football.

[Anonymous]

GP should join the WCAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GP should join the WCAC.

The academic and demographic standards of the WCAC don't match. GP definitely falls in between the current IAC and the WCAC. The move towards being an academy seems to fit. Once they are out of the IAC and grown the enrollment another 50 students, they will be able to compete in the first tier.

[Anonymous]

McD HC certainly understands serious high level coaching, winning, work ethic, college recruiting. Those are just a few areas where GP has fallen short the past decade. This would be a huge win for GPLax.

[Anonymous]

The three posters immediately above this just have to be relative newbies to the DC high school sports world.

There has never been any interest whatsoever at Prep to join the WCAC. Even when GP football was thrown out of the IAC for being too good. It’s never been mentioned on campus let alone seriously discussed.

The principal reasons for this are:

Admissions and Tuition - Prep compares itself to “peer” schools when setting tuition rates and academic requirements. They can correctly say, “We aren’t any more expensive than fellow IAC schools.” If they were in the WCAC, they’d look a lot more like GZA and SJC which have much lower price tags. That would put downward pressure on what they could charge.

Athletics Competition - The WCAC schools are larger, less expensive, less academically selective and have different demographics. Instead of competing for Championships, Prep becomes like Northwestern in the B1G. Instead of winning the Founders Cup, like they usually do, they are in the middle of the standings in most sports, best case.

Top Tier Athletes- Prep and the rest of the IAC should appeal to good athletes especially multi-sport athletes. These are kids who will be impact players for Prep. But they would struggle to play in the WCAC and would have to commit to a single sport.

The WCAC - Its a great Conference athletically but there’s a huge amount of dissatisfaction and distrust among members. It’s dominated by a few schools. Half the Conference would like to leave and probably would if there were an alternative.

There’s reasons to be dissatisfied with the IAC. It’s too small and individual member schools sometimes stray off the beaten path by trying to be WCAC level or even National level programs. But the answer isn’t the WCAC in its current form.

The idea that GP should become IMG Academy is too far out to comment on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The IAC is falling apart. GP is gonna do what they think is best for the school and moving them towards their goal of being the top boarder and day school in the mid atlantic.

The IAC will be gone in 5 years.

St Stephen’s has dropped entirely for football.

SSSA has not dropped football. They just aren’t playing a full IAC schedule. Bullis, Prep and Landon are not on their 2025 slate.

Besides, where are they going to go? Down a level to the MAC with one-time IAC member Sidwell, Potomac, Flint Hill, etc)?


Episcopal is a huge rival. Do they want to be in a Conference that Episcopal is not in?

The only school with any kind of plausible alternative is Prep. They could go to the WCAC or a version of the WCAC with the smaller schools (BI, O’Connell, SMR, Heights, Palottiv, etc).

[Anonymous]

Prep has out grown the IAC, plain and simple
It is 3x the size of Bullis in terms male enrollment. And nearly double the size of Landon and STA.

Prep homers will claim most of the boarding population don’t participate in athletics but it’s the biggest load of BS.

If Landon or Bullis had the class size of Prep, they’d probably be kicking their ass in all sports (minus baseball and rugby)

[Anonymous]

Prep would do more than fine in the WCAC.

Okay maybe they would struggle playing SJC, GC, GZ and DM in football but they would crush Ireton, Carroll, BI, DJO and PVI in football.

Prep would be a top 4 team in the WCAC in the current state for lax, baseball, soccer, and ice hockey.

Depending on the year, Prep would be middle of the road when it comes to hoops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prep has out grown the IAC, plain and simple
It is 3x the size of Bullis in terms male enrollment. And nearly double the size of Landon and STA.

Prep homers will claim most of the boarding population don’t participate in athletics but it’s the biggest load of BS.

If Landon or Bullis had the class size of Prep, they’d probably be kicking their ass in all sports (minus baseball and rugby)

Hasn’t this been true for the last 15 years or so?

If Prep were to leave the IAC, then what? A four team Conference?

And Landon would never vote GP out. As rocky as the relationship between the two schools has been, GP is Landon’s primary rival and yardstick.

If GP were to go to the WCAC, Gonzaga would automatically be their big rival.

And most Prep boarders do not participate in athletics. Most are International students from Asia.

[Anonymous]

My sources at Prep say Hilgardner was offered the job. Great compensation package with housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sources at Prep say Hilgardner was offered the job. Great compensation package with housing.

Prep does own some houses in the Golf Rd neighborhood next to the school. That would make a huge difference in a move from Baltimore because DC real estate is more expensive.

This could be real. But it’s surprising never the less. I can’t remember a parallel situation in any sport in the IAC.

[Anonymous]

I heard he's only coming if Speaks add them to the schedule.

[Anonymous]

And most Prep boarders do not participate in athletics. Most are International students from Asia."

is the 7 foot basketball player from China local or is he a boarding student?

How bout the massive lineman (one of the best lineman in the entire country) who is committed to Oregon, is he local or a boarding student?

How bout the lax middie / linebacker in football last year who went to Cuse, is he local or a boarding student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sources at Prep say Hilgardner was offered the job. Great compensation package with housing.

Prep does own some houses in the Golf Rd neighborhood next to the school. That would make a huge difference in a move from Baltimore because DC real estate is more expensive.

This could be real. But it’s surprising never the less. I can’t remember a parallel situation in any sport in the IAC.

Maybe they are giving him an apt in the dorms. I think his kids are all grown so why would he need a house on Golf Ln?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And most Prep boarders do not participate in athletics. Most are International students from Asia."

is the 7 foot basketball player from China local or is he a boarding student?

How bout the massive lineman (one of the best lineman in the entire country) who is committed to Oregon, is he local or a boarding student?

How bout the lax middie / linebacker in football last year who went to Cuse, is he local or a boarding student.

Remember the statement here. It’s MOST boarders are Internationals, not ALL boarders are Internationals. SOME boarders may be athletes, even exceptional athletes.