Washington Catholic Athletic Conference

The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) is a major high school athletic league for boys, girls, and co-ed Catholic high schools of the Archdiocese of Washington & Diocese of Arlington located in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The WCAC is widely regarded as the nation's best boys and girls basketball and football conference, with several teams in the conference ranked nationally in any given year.

History

The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference was formed from the merger of two established Washington-area Catholic school athletic leagues. In November 1992, the all-boys Metro Conference and the Catholic Girls Athletic Association (CGAA) voted to merge and create a coeducational league beginning with the 1993–94 school year. Twelve schools were involved in the merger, and the new league was initially expected to be called the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Athletic Association.

By the fall of 1993, the league was operating as the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Contemporary coverage of a 1993 football game between DeMatha and St. John's described the WCAC as having a new name and alignment and noted that the schools' previous conference meetings had been played as members of the Metro Conference.

Members

The conference includes Basketball, Football, Lacrosse, Track and Field, Wrestling, Soccer, Volleyball and Baseball programs.[citation needed]It has produced numerous professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB and PLL.

School Archdiocese- Diocese Colors Team name Location Founded Enrollment

 Archbishop Carroll High School Archdiocese of Washington

    Lions Washington, DC 1951 400
Bishop Ireton High School Diocese of Arlington

    Cardinals Alexandria, VA 1964 800
Bishop McNamara High School Archdiocese of Washington

    Mustangs Forestville, MD 1964 870
Bishop O'Connell High School Diocese of Arlington

    Knights Arlington, VA 1957 1,170
 DeMatha Catholic High School Archdiocese of Washington

    Stags Hyattsville, MD 1946 800
Elizabeth Seton High School Archdiocese of Washington

    Roadrunners Bladensburg, MD 1959 570
Gonzaga College High School Archdiocese of Washington

    Eagles Washington, DC 1821 970
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School Archdiocese of Washington

   Falcons Olney, MD 1958 1,200
Academy of the Holy Cross Archdiocese of Washington

    Tartans Kensington, MD 1868 530
St. Paul VI Catholic High School Diocese of Arlington

    Panthers Chantilly, VA 1983 957
St. John's College High School Archdiocese of Washington

    Cadets Washington, DC 1851 1,200
St. Mary's Ryken High School Archdiocese of Washington

     Knights Leonardtown, MD 1885 700
The Heights School Archdiocese of Washington

    Cavaliers Potomac, MD 1969 280

Holy Cross and Elizabeth Seton are girls only, while Gonzaga, DeMatha and the Heights are all boys.

Sports

The WCAC sponsors competitions in the following sports:

Football

Football championship records associated with the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference extend through its predecessor conferences. The Metro Conference was organized in 1969 and became the primary boys' athletic conference for many of the Catholic schools that later formed the WCAC. In 1993, the Metro Conference was reorganized into the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. DeMatha won the first football championship under the WCAC name that season after having won the final two Metro Conference championships in 1991 and 1992.

Beginning with the 2018 season, WCAC football was divided into the Capital and Metro divisions, with each division conducting its own postseason and awarding a championship. St. Mary's Ryken won the inaugural Metro Division championship, while Gonzaga won the inaugural Capital Division championship.

Champions

The championship history below includes championships recognized through the WCAC's predecessor football leagues as well as championships won after the WCAC name was adopted.

Pre-Metro era

Metro Conference era

The 1991 season marked the first Metro Conference football playoff tournament. DeMatha defeated St. John's, 7–0, in the championship game. In 1992, DeMatha defeated regular-season champion Carroll, 28–7, to win the final Metro Conference football championship before the creation of the WCAC.

WCAC era

When the WCAC was created, football initially operated with Division I and Division II classifications. Bishop Ireton won the 1993 Division II championship, Bishop O'Connell won the 1994 Division II championship, and Good Counsel won the 1995 Division II championship. For the 1996 season, the conference replaced the two-division football structure with one division and two separate postseason tournaments on a two-year trial basis.

Capital and Metro Division era

Beginning in 2018, the conference began awarding separate Capital and Metro Division championships.

Year Capital Division champion Metro Division champion
2018 Gonzaga St. Mary's Ryken
2019 Good Counsel St. Mary's Ryken
2020 No championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 St. John's St. Mary's Ryken
2022 St. John's Archbishop Carroll
2023 Good Counsel St. Mary's Ryken
2024 DeMatha Paul VI
2025 DeMatha St. Mary's Ryken

DeMatha's 2024 championship was its 25th conference football title and its first since 2016. The Stags repeated in 2025, defeating Gonzaga 20–13 to win their 26th championship. St. Mary's Ryken's 2025 Metro championship was its fifth Metro title in seven seasons.

Championships by school

The totals below count championships in the primary historical championship lineage through 2017 and both Capital and Metro Division championships beginning in 2018. The separate Division II championships awarded from 1993 through 1995 and other secondary postseason tournaments are not included in these totals.

School Championships
DeMatha 26
Archbishop Carroll 14
St. John's 12
Good Counsel 6
St. Mary's Ryken 5
Gonzaga 4
Bishop McNamara 3
Paul VI 2

Boys Basketball Champions

Champions
School Championships
DeMatha 41
Gonzaga 8
St. John's 4
St. Paul VI 6
Carroll 3
O'Connell 2
McNamara 1

Girls Basketball Champions

Champions
School Championships
St. John's 13
Good Counsel 5
Elizabeth Seton 4
St. Paul VI 3
Bishop McNamara 5
O'Connell 1
Holy Cross 1

Girls Ice Hockey Champions

Champions
School Championships
St. John's 7

Baseball

Champions
School Championships
DeMatha 24
St. John's 17
Good Counsel 5
O'Connell 3
St. Paul VI 4
Carroll 2
Gonzaga 2

Softball Champions

Champions
School Championships
O'Connell 25
St. Mary's Ryken 3
Holy Cross 1
Good Counsel 1
Bishop Ireton 1

Boys soccer champions

Champions
School Championships
Gonzaga 15
DeMatha 11
O'Connell 8
Good Counsel 5
St. Paul VI 4
Ireton 3
Carroll 2
The Heights 2
St. John's 1
McNamara 1

Boys Lacrosse

Champions
School Championships
DeMatha 18
Gonzaga 14
Bishop Ireton 1
St. Mary's Ryken 1
St. John's 3

Wrestling champions

Champions
School Championships
DeMatha 25
Good Counsel 9
O'Connell 5
St. John’s 4
Bishop McNamara 2
Carroll 1
St. Mary’s Ryken 1

Golf champions

Champions
School Championships
Gonzaga 14
Dematha 14
Good Counsel 7
St. Paul VI 4
St. John's 4
Bishop McNamara 3
O'Connell 1

Boys Tennis champions

Champions
School Championships
Gonzaga 23
Dematha 12
O'Connell 2
St. John's 2
Good Counsel 2
Archbishop Carroll 1
Bishop Ireton 1

Boys Ice Hockey champions

Champions
School Championships
DeMatha 4
St. John's 4
Gonzaga 1

Boys Swim and Dive Champions

Champions
School Championships
Gonzaga 8
DeMatha 1

Alumni

Archbishop Carroll

Bishop Ireton

Bishop McNamara

Bishop O'Connell

DeMatha

Gonzaga

Good Counsel

St. Paul VI

St. John's

References

  1. ↑ Greenberger, Neil H. (November 17, 1992). "Metro Conference, CGAA to Form Coed League". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  2. ↑ Anderson, Jeffrey (October 9, 1993). "DeMatha Takes Charge as Smith Leads Attack". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Boswell, Thomas (November 16, 1969). "Carroll wins on late safety; DeMatha loses bid for title". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Greenberger, Neil H. (November 21, 1993). "DeMatha Wins Title in WCAC". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Gonzaga wins a wild WCAC championship on last-second Hail Mary". The Washington Post. November 18, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  6. ↑ "For McGregor, No Comparison". The Washington Post. November 18, 2006. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  7. ↑ Estrada, Louie (December 17, 2005). "St. John's Football Coach David 'Doonie' Waldron". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Huff, Donald (November 23, 1991). "DeMatha's Big Play Wins Metro". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  9. 1 2 Greenberger, Neil H. (November 21, 1992). "DeMatha Routs Carroll for Metro Championship Title". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Maryland Game Day: Football". The Washington Post. November 10, 2000. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ "WCAC Football". The Washington Post. November 19, 1995. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  12. ↑ Manasso, John (February 19, 1996). "WCAC Alters Football Playoffs, Adds Divisions". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  13. ↑ Lourim, Jake (July 27, 2020). "WCAC will be 'rescheduling' fall sports, including football, until after Jan. 1". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Siegel, Emmett (November 24, 2024). "After two years of heartbreak, DeMatha finishes the job in WCAC football final". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "DeMatha completes a perfect season by defending its WCAC football title". The Washington Post. November 24, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  16. 1 2 "WCAC champion DeMatha headlines latest football Top 20 rankings". The Washington Post. November 24, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Boys Catholic Champions Since 1969" (PDF). www.dematha.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2011.