The Suburban Conference, formally the St. Louis Suburban Public High School Athletic and Activities Association (SPHSAAA), is a Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) recognized high school extracurricular league, based near Creve Coeur, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The conference is one of the largest in the state, comprising 31 member schools from St. Louis County and Jefferson County. It evolved from the St. Louis County League, formed in 1908 St. Louis County Football Conference Champions.
Realignments
Because of the large number of teams in the conference, the conference has historically been divided geographically into sub-conferences and divisions. Prior to the 2014–15 school year, there were four conferences: Suburban East, Suburban North, Suburban South, and Suburban West.
In 2018, the St. Louis Suburban Public High School Athletic and Activities Association re-aligned their conferences into various pools by sport. This decision essentially made the existing sub-conferences and divisions irrelevant, as a given school competes against a different pool of schools in each sport. For purposes of athletic competition, pool assignments are based on the following factors: athletics offered, competitive balance, competitive trends, diversity, and school size. The number of pools varies from two (boys volleyball) to five (football), depending on the sport, with most sports having three or four pools. Pools may be realigned if one or more of the previously mentioned standards are not met.
Member schools
+ School Nickame Colors Town County 9–12 Enrollment (2024) Primary MSHSAA Classification Affton High SchoolCougars AfftonSt. Louis739Class 4Clayton High SchoolGreyhounds ClaytonSt. Louis844Class 4Eureka High SchoolWildcats EurekaSt. Louis1,712Class 5/6Fox High SchoolWarriors ArnoldJefferson1,742Class 5/6Hazelwood Central High SchoolHawks FlorissantSt. Louis1,628Class 5/6Hazelwood East High SchoolSpartans Spanish LakeSt. Louis1,264Class 5Hazelwood West High SchoolWildcats HazelwoodSt. Louis2,042Class 5/6Jennings High SchoolWarriors JenningsSt. Louis691Class 4Kirkwood High SchoolPioneers KirkwoodSt. Louis1,737Class 5/6Ladue Horton Watkins High SchoolRams LadueSt. Louis1,324Class 5Lafayette High SchoolLancers WildwoodSt. Louis1,742Class 5/6Lindbergh High SchoolFlyers SappingtonSt. Louis2,266Class 5/6Marquette High SchoolMustangs Clarkson ValleySt. Louis2,155Class 5/6McCluer High SchoolComets FlorissantSt. Louis1,181Class 5McCluer North High SchoolStars FlorissantSt. Louis1,136Class 5McCluer South-Berkeley High SchoolBulldogs FergusonSt. Louis437Class 3Mehlville High SchoolPanthers MehlvilleSt. Louis1,440Class 5/6Normandy High SchoolVikings WellstonSt. Louis747Class 4Northwest High SchoolLions Cedar HillJefferson1,841Class 5/6Oakville High SchoolTigers OakvilleSt. Louis1,684Class 5/6Parkway Central High SchoolColts ChesterfieldSt. Louis1,244Class 5Parkway North High SchoolVikings Maryland HeightsSt. Louis1,074Class 5Parkway South High SchoolPatriots ManchesterSt. Louis1,598Class 5/6Parkway West High SchoolLonghorns ChesterfieldSt. Louis1,408Class 5Pattonville High SchoolPirates Maryland HeightsSt. Louis1,893Class 5/6Ritenour High SchoolHuskies Breckenridge HillsSt. Louis1,873Class 5/6Riverview Gardens High SchoolRams Bellefontaine NeighborsSt. Louis1,331Class 5Rockwood Summit High SchoolFalcons FentonSt. Louis1,229Class 5Seckman High SchoolJaguars SeckmanJefferson1,793Class 5/6University City High SchoolLions University CitySt. Louis726Class 4Webster Groves High SchoolStatesmen Webster GrovesSt. Louis1,315Class 5
Rivalries
The Suburban Conference has some historic rivalries between its schools, but also those that are generally unknown outside the community.
(Note: most of the following information mainly applies to football. The intensity of these rivalries, and their rivalries in general, can vary by sport.)
Kirkwood–Webster Groves
The most notable and historic rivalry between any Suburban Conference member school is, by far, the rivalry between the Kirkwood Pioneers and the Webster Groves Statesmen football teams. Their "Turkey Day Game" on Thanksgiving has been a St. Louis tradition since 1928 and began as a conference championship, which the two schools dominated until the mid 1920s St. Louis County Football Conference Champions. In 1952, the winning team was awarded the "Frisco Bell" trophy. It is the only remaining traditional Thanksgiving Day football game between two Missouri high schools, and is the only one in the state to be held after the MSHSAA State Championship game. This game's traditional date also means that they are the only two schools in the state to have an extra bye week during the regular season.
Clayton–Ladue Another strong rivalry in this division is between the Clayton Greyhounds and Ladue Rams.
Eureka–Lafayette
The Eureka Wildcats and the Lafayette Lancers are strong rivals in the Rockwood School District. Both schools are located off of Missouri Route 109, hence its nickname, the “Battle of 109” rivalry.
Mehlville–Oakville
A generally unknown rivalry is the battle between the Mehlville Panthers and the Oakville Tigers. There is a noticeable "big brother, little brother" hatred between the two Mehlville School District high schools, Mehlville High being the older, more established institution compared to its counterpart. Students usually know someone attending the other school, influenced both by the schools’ close proximity to one another and the district's feeder system.
Other notable rivalries
Pattonville Pirates vs. Ritenour Huskies Affton Cougars vs. Bayless Bronchos (Bayless High School is not a member of the Suburban Conference) Fox Warriors vs. Seckman Jaguars
References
External links