Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines.

As of the 2013–14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,431 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.1:1. The school's enrollment was 81.2% White, 4.1% Black, 10.2% Hispanic, 4.4% Asian and 0.1% American Indian / Alaska Native.

History It was created in 1972 by the merger of St. Joseph Academy for girls (established in 1884)Sioux Valley News, August 5, 1885, pg. 2 and Dowling High School for boys (established in 1918 as the Des Moines College boarding school for boys).Des Moines Daily News, September 7, 1918, pg. 1 It was named after Austin Dowling, first bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines and second archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul.

Controversies Sexual exploitation A former teacher plead guilty to sexual exploitation of a student on school grounds.

Hiring and LGBTQ+ policies Protests and student walkouts occurred after employment decisions tied to a candidate's sexual orientation did not align with diocesan teachings, drawing regional criticism and debate over inclusion. Student-led pushes for LGBTQ+ visibility and transgender rights sparked internal tension and prompted the Diocese of Des Moines to publicly re-emphasize traditional Catholic teachings on gender identity.

Academics During the 2003–04 school year, Dowling Catholic High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Tuition Total tuition cost for 2018-2019 is $11,176 plus fees. Tuition for students belonging to a Catholic Parish is $7,986 plus fees. Tuition for international students is $12,076 plus fees.

Extracurricular activities

Baseball The Maroons hold the record for most team home runs during a championship game with 5 in 2001.

Baseball State Championships Year Record Opponent Score 1988 39–2 Ames 9–8 1989 38–5 Fort Dodge 8–5 1999 33–13 Ankeny 6–1 2001 42–3 Marshaltown 13–2201136-7Mason City6-1

Boys' basketball State Boys' Basketball Championships Year Score Opponent 1957 69–66 Waterloo, West 1979 60–57 Davenport Central Bobby Hansen who later played at the University of Iowa and nine years in the NBA, was on the 1979 state championship team.

Cross country

Girls State Cross Country Team Championships Year Finishes Score 2007 1-2-6-8-15 32 2008 1-2-9-24-33 69 2009 1-2-11-15-28 57 2010 3-4-14-19-20 60 2011 1-6-14-20-22 63

2007 Girls' Heartland Regional Champions

Boys State Cross Country Team Championship Wins Year Finishes Score 1974 4-9-10-16 39 1985 3-8-15-36 62 2011 3-6-12-18-31 70 2012 1-6-8-18-27 60 2015 1-9-13-17-29 69 2016 3-8-13-23-53 100 2018 4-7-15-17-29 72 2019 2-14-16-17-38 87 2021 1-7-9-18-21 58 2022 1-5-9-13-23 51 2023 3-10-18-19-22 72

Debate Dowling is the home of the Dowling Catholic Paradigm, one of the largest debate tournaments held by a school. In 2015, Dowling Catholic won 2 state titles for Congressional Debate, 1 for Public Forum debate, and 1 for Lincoln Douglas Debate.

Football Home games are played at the 9,500 seat Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, Williams Stadium, or at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. In 2019, they became the first school in Iowa history to win seven straight Class 4A state championships.

Dowling made the playoffs 17 years in a row beginning in 1985 and ending in 2002 when Dowling missed the playoffs. The school won 36 consecutive games in the 1967 through 1971 graduating class seasons. Dowling won 64 consecutive Metro conference games, a streak lasting from 1968 to 1977. In addition to the 64 metro games Dowling also won 57 consecutive conference games lasting from 1993 to 2002. WDM, Valley is Dowling's primary rival since 1968 when the schools joined the Des Moines Metro Conference. State Football Championships 2000 (13–0) 35–28 Bettendorf High (11–2) 2001 (13–0) 35–15 Iowa City High (12–1) 2010 (14–0) 38-31(OT) Iowa City High (13–1) 2013 (14–0) 44–13 Cedar Rapids Xavier (12–2) 2014 (13–1) 49–14 Washington High School (13–1) 2015 (13–0) 41–10 C. R. Kennedy (13–1) 2016 (12–1) 23–10 Iowa City West (10–3) 2017 (12–1) 35–21 Iowa City West (12–1) 2018 (11–2) 22–16 Cedar Falls (12–1) 2019 (12–1) 21–16 West Des Moines Valley (12–1) 2025 (12–1) 27-10 Iowa City Liberty (11-2)

Swimming The boys' swimming team won four championships, consecutively from 2001 to 2003.

The girls' swim team won their first state title during the 2019 season and second and third in 2024 and 2025

Boys' tennis + Boys-2A State of Iowa High School Tennis ChampionshipsYearTeam Titles/Player TitlesOpponentScore1992 2A-Team Title Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School 5–32001 2A-Team Title Dubuque Senior High School 5–3

Wrestling

Dowling has won State Dual Wrestling Championships in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992 Dowling has won the State Traditional Wrestling Championship in 1975, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1990, and 1991

State WrestlingTeam Championships Year Score 1975 46.5 1978 94.5 1984 115 1988 124.5 1990 109.5 1991 91

Dowling has the state record for most consecutive dual wins with 136 set from January 1986 to January 1992

Notable alumni Gene Lalley (1940), NBA player Jerry Groom (1947), NFL Pro Bowl offensive lineman Fred L. Turner (1951), former CEO of McDonald's Chuck Muelhaupt (1953), NFL offensive lineman Bob Harlan (1954), former president of the Green Bay Packers George Kinley (1955), Iowa state legislatorThe Iowa Legislature-George Kinley Tom Harkin (1957), United States Senator (Iowa) Tony Bisignano (1970), member of the Iowa Senate Bobby Hansen (1979), NBA player Claire Celsi (1984), Iowa State Senator Matt McCoy (1984), Iowa State Senator Scott Pose (1985), MLB outfielder Chris Broussard (1986 - transferred), sports analyst for FS1 Shawn Crahan (1987), Slipknot percussionist Mike Mahoney (1990), MLB catcher Ross Verba (1991), NFL offensive lineman Jennie Baranczyk (2000), head women's basketball coach for the Oklahoma Sooners Tyson Smith (2000), NFL linebacker Matt Macri (2001), MLB third baseman Karen Maine (2003), director and screenwriter of Yes, God, Yes Michael Annett (2004), NASCAR driver Clare Duwelius (2007), Executive Vice President of Unrivaled, former WNBA GM Miranda Leek (2011), Olympic archer Amara Darboh (2012), NFL wide receiver Matt Haack (2013), NFL punter Rico Gafford (2014), NFL wide receiver Karissa Schweizer (2014), track and field athlete, Olympian and World Record holder in the 4x1500 meters relay Jake Hummel (2017), linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens Carter Baumler (2020), pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles organization Caitlin Clark (2020), WNBA All-Star player for the Indiana Fever Omaha Biliew (2023 - transferred), basketball player for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Teagan Kavan (2023), softball pitcher for the Texas Longhorns

References

External links

Iowa High School Athletic Association