Colonial League


The Colonial League is an athletic conference consisting of 14 high schools mostly from the Lehigh Valley portion of eastern Pennsylvania. 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. The largest 18 schools in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono region compete in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, one of the premiere athletic divisions in the nation.

History

In 1975, ten schools from the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania merged to form the Colonial League. Since then, a total of seven teams have joined the league, with two teams leaving.

Charter members

The Colonial League was founded in 1975, with the following ten school teams as charter members:
  • Bangor Area High School
  • Catasauqua High School
  • Nazareth Area High School
  • Palisades High School
  • Palmerton Area High School
  • Pen Argyl Area High School
  • Salisbury High School
  • Saucon Valley High School
  • Southern Lehigh High School
  • Wilson Area High School
Prior to the 1975-76 school year, most of these schools were part of the Lehigh-Northampton League for interscholastic activities. As years went on, the member schools of the LVL and L-N began to vary greatly in school sizes and athletic competition levels.. Some smaller schools of each league broke away and formed the Colonial League while others became members of the Centennial League. Some joined the East Penn Conference, which includes the Lehigh Valley's largest high schools and a very high level of athletic competition.

1994 membership additions and departure

In 1994, four high school athletic programs, Northern Lehigh High School, Northwestern Lehigh High School, Notre Dame High School, and Notre Dame High School in East Stroudsburg, joined the Colonial League, and one school, Nazareth Area High School in Nazareth, departed the league to begin competing with larger high schools in the Mountain Valley Conference, and subsequently joined the Lehigh Valley Conference and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

2014 addition and departure

In 2014, Moravian Academy in Bethlehem joined the Colonial League and Notre Dame High School in East Stroudsburg, departed it.

2024 additions

In early 2023, Lehighton Area High School was approved for membership, and Jim Thorpe Area High School soon followed. They began competition in the 2024-25 school year.