Interscholastic League of Honolulu

21°18′17″N 157°51′11″W / 21.3047988°N 157.8530661°W / 21.3047988; -157.8530661

Interscholastic League of Honolulu
ConferenceHHSAA
Founded1909
Sports fielded
  • 37
No. of teams20
RegionHawaii (ul5Hawaii]]
Official websiteilhsports.com

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) is an athletic activity league whose membership is primarily private secondary schools in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The ILH has 20 member schools[1] with over 13,000 student athletes participating in 37 different sports including cross country, track and field, swimming and diving, football, baseball, basketball, soccer, canoe paddling, kayaking, air riflery, water polo, judo, cheerleading, and sailing.

History

The ILH was founded in 1909 with Punahou, Kamehameha and McKinley High School making up the original membership. A number of public and private institutions joined soon after to bolster membership. In 1911 the ILH passed a rule stating that all players must be students, after schools supplemented their teams with recent graduates.[2]

Along with the large number of private institutions that composed the membership of the ILH, there were five public high schools situated in Honolulu that were original members of the league: Farrington High School, Kaimuki High School, McKinley High School, Roosevelt High School and Kalani High School. In 1970, these five schools left the ILH to join the Oahu Interscholastic Association, a league now comprising all the public secondary schools on the island, leaving the ILH membership composed primarily with private institutions.[3]

Operations

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu is governed by a set of policies that cover aspects such as: eligibility of students, age limits, academic standing, sports participation, outside participation rules and a codified transfer policy between teams.[4]

As a large number of schools in the ILH have very small enrollment numbers, many schools cannot field teams that require a large number of players such as football, baseball, wrestling, etc. In response to this problem, and to give their students a chance to compete in these sports, these schools pool their players together and play under the moniker "Pac-Five". Pac-Five participates in many of the various sports offered by the ILH. Unfortunately for this combined athletic program, the athletes are not allowed to participate and score as a team in state championship individual sports. In this case, the athletes from each school must compete under their own school name, making it extremely difficult to win team awards due to the failure to meet the minimum number of athletes participating in an event in order to achieve a high team score.[5]

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu had used Aloha Stadium as the primary venue for ILH football games until its closure in 2020. Previously, the ILH had used Honolulu Stadium until that closed in 1975. ILH football games are now played at their respective campuses with the exception of Damien, Saint Louis, and PAC-5.[6]

League events

Tournaments hosted by the Interscholastic League of Honolulu have always been some of the most popular events in the State of Hawaii. Events such as the old Thanksgiving Day football game would annually draw crowds upwards of 20,000 to Honolulu Stadium to watch the league crown its champion. Although the Turkey Day Game has long been defunct, avid fans still often commute from neighbor islands to O'ahu to attend conference games in a wide range of sports.[7][8]

Member institutions

Current full members

There are currently 20 full member programs:

Institution Location Founded Type Nickname School Colors
Assets School Honolulu, Hawaii 1969 Private Admirals Red, White & Blue
Christian Academy (Honolulu) Honolulu, Hawaii 1981 Private Patriots Blue & White
Damien Memorial School Honolulu, Hawaii 1962 Private Monarchs Purple & Gold
Hanalani Schools Mililani, Hawaii 1978 Private Royals Purple & Gold
Hawaii Baptist Academy Honolulu, Hawaii 1949 Private Eagles Black, Gold & White
Hawaiian Mission Academy Honolulu, Hawaii 1920 Private Knights Blue and White
Iolani School Honolulu, Hawaii 1863 Private Raiders Red, Black & White
Island Pacific Academy Kapolei, Hawaii 2003 Private Navigators Navy Blue, Silver, & Gold
Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama Honolulu, Hawaii 1887 Private Warriors Blue & White
La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls Honolulu, Hawaii 1964 Private Panthers Royal & Sky Blue
Le Jardin Academy Kailua, Hawaii 1961 Private Bulldogs Blue & White
Maryknoll School Honolulu, Hawaii 1927 Private Spartans Maroon & Gold
Mid-Pacific Institute Honolulu, Hawaii 1865 Private Owls Green & White
Pacific Buddhist Academy Honolulu, Hawaii 2003 Private Dragons Teal, Indigo & Gold
Punahou School Honolulu, Hawaii 1841 Private Buff N' Blue Buff & Blue
Sacred Hearts Academy Honolulu, Hawaii 1909 Private Lancers White & Gold
Saint Andrew's Schools Honolulu, Hawaii 1867 Private Pride Red & White
Saint Louis School Honolulu, Hawaii 1846 Private Crusaders Red & Blue
University Laboratory School Honolulu, Hawaii 1947 Public charter school Jr. Rainbows Green & White
Pac-Five Honolulu, Hawaii 1974 Athletic alliance Wolfpack Texas Orange & White

Former full members

Institution Location Founded Type Nickname School Colors Year Left
Academy of the Pacific Honolulu, Hawaii 1961 Private Dolphins Blue & White 2013[a]
Farrington High School Honolulu, Hawaii 1936 Public Governors Maroon & White 1970[b]
Ho'ala School Wahiawa, Hawaii 1986 Private Hurricanes Maroon & White
Kaimuki High School Honolulu, Hawaii 1944 Public Bulldogs Green & Gold 1970[b]
Kalani High School Honolulu, Hawaii 1958 Public Falcons Red & White 1970[b]
Lanakila Baptist School Ewa Beach, Hawaii 1969 Private Warriors Red & White 2024
Lutheran High School Honolulu, Hawaii 1948 Private Lions Navy Blue & White 2016[a]
McKinley High School Honolulu, Hawaii 1865 Public Tigers Black & Gold 1970[b]
Roosevelt High School Honolulu, Hawaii 1930 Public Rough Riders Red & Gold 1970[b]
Saint Francis School Honolulu, Hawaii 1924 Private Saints Carolina Blue & White 2019[9][a]
Word of Life Academy Honolulu, Hawaii 1993 Private Firebrands Navy Blue & Carolina Blue 2010[10][a]
  1. ^ a b c d School closed
  2. ^ a b c d e Current OIA member

References

  1. ^ "Member Schools: Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA)". www.sportshigh.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  2. ^ "O'ahu College Football (1913)". Punahou. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  3. ^ Reardon, Dave (June 24, 2001). "Problems rooted in split of 31 years ago: Some of the reasons for the ILH breakup still exist today". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  4. ^ INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE OF HONOLULU OPERATIONS HANDBOOK 2016-2017 (PDF). 2016.
  5. ^ "ILH Pac-Five - Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA)". www.sportshigh.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  6. ^ Paul Honda (December 18, 2020). "ILH football coordinator Wendell Look on impact of Aloha Stadium closure". Hawaii Prep World.com. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  7. ^ "Current Events | Interscholastic League of Honolulu". December 2, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  8. ^ "OIA/ILH History". Island Football Magazine. January 22, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  9. ^ "Saint Francis School in Manoa announces it will close at end of school year". Hawaii News Now.com. February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  10. ^ Paul Honda (March 23, 2010). "Aloha, Word of Life". Hawaii Prep World.com. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
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