For 103 years, the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) has influenced generations of basketball players and coaches. That history is rivaled by few, if any, high school basketball leagues across the nation, leading the PCL to be considered one of the great athletic traditions in a city full of proud sports traditions.
From Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry to Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, the PCL has produced an immense amount of talent over the years. Some current PCL players are considered among the best local and national high school recruits, including Neumann-Goretti point guard Robert Wright and Archbishop Wood shooting guard Jahlil Bethea.
“Other good players are coming to play the best players. So you know you’re going up against future SEC players and Big East and ACC players,” said St. Joseph’s Prep head coach Jason Harrigan. “You have to make sure you prepare yourself.”
But in recent years, despite the championship pedigree, the PCL has become known for something else: A lack of resources. The declining enrollment of the area’s catholic schools and financial pressures within the Archdiocese (both national trends) have spilled over onto the court. In 2009, PCL stalwarts North Catholic High School, Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School, and Cardinal Doughtery all shut down. In 2021, Bishop McDevitt High School and John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School suffered a similar fate.
At times, basketball has taken a back seat to these broader realities. “The reality is the land some of these schools are on, the [Philadelphia] Archdiocese can probably profit greatly from that,” said Mike McKee, the men’s basketball coach at La Salle College High School, speaking about the closures. “The leadership at the [Philadelphia] Archdiocese and at each of these schools … [challenges] are faced. Can we maintain [our schools]? Is our enrollment good enough? Are we making more money than we’re spending?”
North Catholic and Cardinal Dougherty shut down because of enrollment reasons. WHYY reported the Archdiocesan conducted a study that found North Catholic’s enrollment decreased by 29 percent. Cardinal Dougherty faced similar issues and only had 642 students enrolled when it closed.
McKee, more than most, appreciates how the PCL builds long-term relationships and views those traditions as worth fighting for. His mother went to John W. Hallahan, which added a personal layer to the school’s permanent closing. McKee recalled how North Catholic created an internship program to save the school, but it was sold before it could be enacted.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, North Catholic created a $1.5 million dollar information-technology program that gave its students opportunities to train as information technologists, computer repairmen and network managers. The potential income of this program was supposed to keep North Catholic open for another five years.
Asked if he thought more closures could be on the horizon, McKee said: “Unfortunately, that’s a possibility.”
While off-court concerns about the PCL remain, the league had a banner year in many respects. A glut of talent on PCL rosters created league-wide parody and heightened interest in the competition, as four programs had a realistic chance to win the 2023 title.
On a Wednesday night in February, the Palestra was packed for the PCL championship game between Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti. Roman won 57-52 in overtime to hoist the title for the 33rd time in program history.
The large crowds are a calling card of the PCL, although not the standard for high school gymnasiums. The dedicated fanbase of the PCL was surprising to Neumann-Goretti Athletic Director Pat Devenney when he was first hired in 2021.
“It’s something [that] I’ve never seen before at the high school level,” Devenney said about the game day experience at Neumann-Goretti. “It’s something you really need to take in first hand. Luckily, this is my second year, so I am getting more of a familiar taste of it to see what worked last year and what didn’t work.
“Then coming into this year,[I] [am] really getting to see it explode, especially with the pandemic behind us. There is nothing like it.”
Neumann-Goretti won 20 games because of its talented roster and coaching. However, the outside support the school receives is an underrated factor of its success on the court.
Three different teams at Neumann-Goretti share one court for practice times, including the men’s basketball program. Neumann-Goretti is not the only PCL school that struggles with limited facilities. The long-standing tradition and reputation of the program made this issue easier to handle.
“We are doing everything we can to use playgrounds [and] recreational centers,” Devenney said about other practice sites. “We are grateful for some of the people that we have partnerships with within the [South] [Philadelphia] community.”
Neumann-Goretti is not the only strong fanbase in the PCL.
Roman Catholic head coach Chris McNesby is a former player at the school. He returned to coach his alma mater to develop a new generation of PCL standouts.
McNesby coached the sons and relatives of his former teammates at Roman Catholic. One of the reasons for the strong support of the PCL is simple.
Fandom is passed down through generations.
In spite of the passionate fans, the bottom line is that enrollment numbers and financial pressures are concerns that PCL schools must monitor.
“Because at the end of the day, it is a business. I can’t look at a crystal ball. But if you look backwards, [Bishop] McDevitt has closed, [John] [W.] Hallahan has closed, North Catholic has closed,” said McKee. “So it is scary in that regard. Who is next?”
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