St. Joseph's Preparatory School

St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joe's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Society of Jesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was founded in 1851 from the Old St. Joseph's Church in the city's Society Hill neighborhood.^[3] The school moved to its current campus on Girard Avenue in the 1870s with the construction of the Church of the Gesu.

St. Joseph's Preparatory School
Address
1733 West Girard Avenue Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19130 United States
Coordinates	39°58′21″N 75°9′53″W
Information
Type	Private, All-boys college-preparatory educational institution
Motto	(Latin): Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (For the greater glory of God)
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholic Church (Jesuit)
Patron saint(s)	Saint Joseph
Established	1851; 174 years ago (1851)
Oversight	Society of Jesus
President	John F. Marinacci
Principal	Andrew T. Cavacos
Grades	9–12
Gender	Boys
Enrollment	904
Campus size	6.5 acres (2.6 ha)
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Crimson and Gray
Slogan	Educating Men of Competence, Conscience & Compassion since 1851
Song	Swing on Along With the Crimson
Athletics conference	Philadelphia Catholic League PIAA USRowing
Nickname	Hawks
Rival	La Salle College High School
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Publication	Chronicle (literary magazine)
Newspaper	The Hawkeye
Yearbook	The Chronicle
Tuition	$27,350 (2024-2025)
Website	www.sjprep.org
Girard Avenue Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Philadelphia Show map of Pennsylvania Show map of the United States
Built	Mid-late 19th century
Architect	Edwin Forrest Durang, et al.
Architectural style	Baroque Revival
NRHP reference No.	85003427[2]
Added to NRHP	October 31, 1985
Main Entrance

Curriculum

The credits must satisfy the minimums in religious studies (4), English (4), mathematics / computer science (4), history (3), science (3), classics & modern language (5), fine arts (1), electives (2). A minimum of two of the language credits must be in classics.^[4]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

St. Joseph's Prep's athletic teams compete as one of the 16 schools in the Philadelphia Catholic League. The Prep joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association in the 2007–2008 school year. The Prep offers the following athletic programs:

Fall: cross country, football (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), crew (varsity and junior varsity), rugby, soccer (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), squash (varsity and junior varsity), Ultimate Frisbee (club), and golf.

Winter: basketball (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), bowling (varsity and junior varsity), indoor track and field, swimming, wrestling (varsity and junior varsity), and ice hockey (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen).

Spring: baseball (varsity, junior varsity, and freshman), crew (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, tennis, mountain biking, Ultimate Frisbee (club), and rugby (varsity, junior varsity, freshmen/sophomore).

The boys senior eight crew team has won the Stotesbury Cup in national competition 16 times; in 1955, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999–2001, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2019, 2021 2023, 2024 and 2025.^[5] Additionally, the Prep is the only team to ever sweep all the boys' eights events at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, having done it in 1997, 2008, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

In 2000, the Prep Varsity 8 won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta.^[6] In 2021, St. Joseph's Prep won the USRowing Youth National Championship in the Men's 8+ for the first time.^[7] This was the first time a scholastic team won the national championship in over a decade. Subsequently, in 2025, St. Joseph's Prep won the Under-17 8+ at the USRowing Youth National Championship. ^[8]

The Prep football team won back-to-back state championships, winning the Class 4A state championship in 2014 with a 49–41 win against Pine-Richland High School in the finals.^[9] Despite losing to La Salle College High School early in the 2015 playoffs, the St. Joseph's Prep football team won the first ever Class 6A PIAA state championship, defeating Pittsburgh Central Catholic by a score of 42–7 at HersheyPark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.^[10] The team won the program's fourth state title in 2018 with a 40–20 win against Harrisburg High School in the Class 6A tournament final.^[11]

Notable alumni

Academia and education

• Robert L. Barchi (Class of 1964), president of Rutgers University and president of Thomas Jefferson University
• Mark C. Reed (Class of 1992), president of Loyola University Chicago; president of Saint Joseph's University
• Joseph A. Sellinger (Class of 1939), president of Loyola University Maryland^[12]
• Michael J. Wade (Class of 1967), evolutionary biologist.^[13]

Authors and writers

• Richard Corliss (Class of 1961), film critic and editor for TIME magazine.^[14]
• Christopher McDougall (Class of 1980), author of Born to Run^[15]

Business

• W. Nicholas Howley (Class of 1970), founder/chairman of TransDigm Group^[16]
• John McShain (Class of 1914), building contractor; known as "The Man Who Built Washington"
• Frank Quattrone (Class of 1973), investment banker; founder/CEO of Qatalyst Group

Catholic Church

• William J. Byron (Class of 1945), president of The Catholic University of America and the University of Scranton; president of the Prep, 2006–2008
• Cardinal John Foley (Class of 1953), president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
• Joseph Anthony Galante (Class of 1956), bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey
• Joseph A. Sellinger (Class of 1938), president Loyola College in Maryland^[17]
• Francis B. Schulte (Class of 1944), retired Archbishop of New Orleans
• Francis X. Talbot (Class of 1906), president of Loyola College in Maryland^[18]

Entertainment

• Jimmy Bruno (Class of 1971), jazz guitarist
• Joe "The Hammer" DeCamara (Class of 1996), Host of the WIP Morning Show, Sole Proprietor of Bath Time
• Matt Duke (Class of 2003), singer-songwriter/musician signed to the label Rykodisc, released multiple albums^[19]
• Henry Gibson (Class of 1953), star of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
• Henry Jones (Class of 1931), Tony Award-winning actor
• Rob McElhenney (Class of 1995), creator and co-star of the TV show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. A fictional version of the school appears in the show. Co-owner of Welsh association football club Wrexham A.F.C.^[20]
• Michael Rady (Class of 1999), actor featured in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and star of TV drama Melrose Place^[21]
• Dan White (Class of 1999), magician, host of the Discovery Channel show The Supernaturalist^[22]

Engineering

• John R. Casani (Class of 1950), engineer and project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Government and politics

• John F. Byrne Sr. (born 1911), Philadelphia City Councilman and Pennsylvania state senator
• Johnny Dougherty, former labor leader prominent in Philadelphia Democratic politics
• Andrew von Eschenbach (Class of 1959), United States Commissioner of Food and Drugs, director at BioTime, a biotechnology company^[23]
• Vince Fumo (Class of 1960), Pennsylvania state senator and Ranking Democratic Member of the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee
• William J. Green III (Class of 1956), U.S. Congressman and mayor of Philadelphia
• William K. Greenlee (Class of 1971), Philadelphia City Councilman
• Jim Kenney (Class of 1976), Philadelphia City Councilman and Mayor of Philadelphia
• Gerald A. McHugh Jr. (Class of 1972), United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge
• Michael Nutter (Class of 1975), Philadelphia City Councilman and Mayor of Philadelphia
• Brian J. O'Neill (Class of 1978), Minority Leader of the Philadelphia City Council
• Matthew J. Ryan (Class of 1950), Pennsylvania House of Representatives speaker
• Patrick F.Dugan (Class of 1978) Former President Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court

Military

• Navy Rear Admiral Joseph F. Kilkenny (Class of 1973), commander, U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 10 and Naval Recruiting Command^{[24][citation needed]}

Sports

• Dominick Barlow (born 2003), professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, on a two-way contract with the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League^[25]
• Tom Burgoyne (Class of 1983), “friend” of the Phillie Phanatic, mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies
• Peter Cipollone (Class of 1989), 2004 Olympic gold-medalist and world record-holder in rowing
• Kyle Criscuolo (born 1992), professional ice hockey player, Buffalo Sabres^[26]
• Frank Costa (Class of 1990), college football player, University of Miami
• Colin Farrell (Class of 2001), world champion rower and head coach for University of Pennsylvania lightweight men's crew
• Rich Gannon (Class of 1983), professional football player, 2002 National Football League (NFL) MVP
• Matt Guokas (Class of 1962), professional basketball player, Philadelphia 76ers, and head coach, Orlando Magic
• Marvin Harrison Jr. (Class of 2021), NFL player for the Arizona Cardinals. Former Ohio State All-American, 2023 recipient of the Biletnikoff Award
• Fritz Henrich, professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies^[27]
• Victor Hobson (Class of 1998), NFL player for the Arizona Cardinals
• Jim Knowles (Class of 1983), head coach of Cornell University football team, defensive coordinator, Penn State University football team
• Phil Martelli (Class of 1972), head coach of Saint Joseph's University basketball team, assistant coach of University of Michigan basketball team
• Kyle McCord (Class of 2021), NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles
• Jim McKay (Class of 1939), ABC Sports anchorman; contributor of services to 2006 FIFA World Cup
• John Reid (Class of 2015), NFL cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons
• Jon Runyan Jr. (Class of 2015), NFL offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers
• Kevin Stefanski (Class of 2000), NFL head coach for the Cleveland Browns^[28]
• D'Andre Swift (Class of 2017), NFL running back for the Chicago Bears
• Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Class of 2021), NFL linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles
• Josiah Trotter (Class of 2023), college football linebacker for the Missouri Tigers^[29]
• Olamide Zaccheaus (Class of 2015), NFL wide receiver for the Chicago Bears

See also

• List of Jesuit sites