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St. Xavier High School (Louisville)

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Saint Xavier High School
Location
1609 Poplar Level Road
Louisville
,
Kentucky
40217
United States
38°13′09″N 85°43′35″W / 38.2193°N 85.7265°W
Information
Type Private, college-preparatory school
Motto Latin: Numen Lumen
(Let God be our divine light.)
Religious affiliations Roman Catholic
Xaverian Brothers
Established 1864
Faculty 113.8 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Gender Male
Enrollment 1,275 (2019–20)[1]
Average class size 20 students
Student to teacher ratio 11.2:1[1]
Campus Urban, 54 acres, 6 buildings
Colors Green
Gold
Athletics 10 KHSAA Sports
4 Club Sports
Intramurals
Athletics conference Kentucky High School Athletic Association
Mascot Tiger
Team name The Saint Xavier Tigers
Rivals Trinity High School
Website www.saintx.com

St. Xavier High School, colloquially known as St. X, is a Catholic all-boys, college preparatory Xaverian school in Louisville, Kentucky. It is located in the Archdiocese of Louisville. St. Xavier was founded in 1864 by Br. Paul Van Gerwen, C.F.X.[2]

The school is located at 1609 Poplar Level Road and is the only school in Kentucky that has received the Blue Ribbon of Excellence Award five times, the most recent of which was awarded in 2023. St. Xavier has also renovated the school grounds with Project X, an initiative to raise $28 million for new academic and athletic facilities. In total Project X raised $29.1 million for the school.[3] In 2016, it was voted "Best Private High School" in the Louisville Magazine.[4]

Athletics

St. Xavier has the largest enrollment of boys among Kentucky high schools,[5][6] and had been the only school in Kentucky to have won a state championship in every Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA)-sanctioned sport open to boys before the KHSAA began sponsoring coeducational championships in bass fishing and archery in the early 21st century. St. Xavier is one of the most successful athletic programs in Kentucky, having won 172 boys' state championships across 13 different KHSAA sports.[7] In 2005, St. Xavier was ranked #14 in "Sports Illustrated" Best High School Athletic Programs.[8] In the 2009 fall semester, Saint X won all four fall sports.[9][10] This is an unprecedented feat, taking home championships in soccer, football, cross country and golf.[11]

The annual football game with traditional local rival Trinity High School at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium is promoted by the schools as the most-attended annual regular-season high school football game in the country, typically drawing over 35,000 fans.[12] The largest crowd was 38,500 and the 2007 edition of the game had an announced attendance of 37,550.[13] Both teams have also met in the KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl.[14][15] As of 2025, St. Xavier has 13 state championships, with the last one being in 2021.[16] In 2018, St. X announced that Kevin Wallace would be named new football head coach after Will Wolford announced that he would resign.[17][18] The swim team has won thirty-seven consecutive state swimming championships, a national record for consecutive state championships out of any sport.[19] In total, the swim team has captured 61 swimming state titles overall, also a national record.[20] The golf team has won the McDonald's Tournament of Champions national event multiple times and sent numerous golfers on to NCAA Division I colleges such as Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama, Wake Forest, Clemson, Cornell, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Purdue. In 2016, St. X made a 3-peat by winning its 21st title and joined Louisville Male High School to win more than 2 more titles.[21]

As of 2018, the cross country team has won 6 of the last 7 State Championships,[22] and was nationally ranked in the top 15 in 2012–13. In 2012, the team which consisted of 6 future NCAA DI athletes, qualified for and competed in Nike Cross Nationals, the only consensus national championship competition in all of American High School athletics. The Tigers placed 14th. In 2016, the cross country team was ranked 13th at the nationals.[23] In addition, it won several titles along with Floyd Central at a Tiger Run meeting.[24] The soccer team has won eight state championships since 2000,[25] earning top 10 rankings in national polls while doing so.

The Tigers' football home of Brother Thomas More Page Stadium[26] also hosts the Bellarmine Knights sprint football team, representing nearby Bellarmine University. The university began play in sprint football, a form of American football played under standard college rules but with player weights restricted to 178 pounds (81 kg), in the 2022 season.[27]

Project X

Saint Xavier has done renovations with Project X. Project X first did renovations with a $3 million classroom.[28] Project X also resulted in a new tennis facility, complete with concessions and seating for 300 spectators, a new baseball stadium and a new 6,100 seat football stadium, complete with two private suites, an 8-lane rubberized track, and new spaces for offices and locker rooms. The Tigers opened the new baseball complex on March 26, 2007, with a 10–0 win over Meade County, opened the football stadium on August 24, 2007,[29] with an 18–14 victory over Ballard and opened the 2,000 seat basketball arena with a 73–53 win over South Oldham on January 20, 2009.[30]

With the conclusion of Project X, St. Xavier now boasts some of the best high school athletic facilities in the nation including an indoor golf facility on campus.[31]

Notable alumni

Academics
Michael Dorris, prominent novelist (The Broken Cord, The Yellow Raft in Blue Water) and scholar; The Broken Cord won 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction
Rudy Rucker, computer scientist, mathematician, and science fiction author[32]
W. Kip Viscusi, economist
Athletics
Frank Beard, former PGA Tour golfer
Clark Burckle, member of USA Swimming National Team
Chris Burke, MLB player for Arizona Diamondbacks[33]
Ray Burse, Major League Soccer (MLS) goalkeeper for FC Dallas
Paul Byrd, MLB pitcher for Boston Red Sox[34]
Bobby Curtis, Big East champion and NCAA All-American Cross Country, Track & Field athlete
Lee Huber, All-American with Kentucky Wildcats, early professional with Akron Goodyear Wingfoots
Bernard Jackson, former American football player
Dicky Lyons, former National Football League player for New Orleans Saints[35]
Mo Moorman, former NFL player for Kansas City Chiefs
Bobby Nichols, professional golfer, winner of 1964 PGA Championship
Scott Padgett, former NCAA champion with Kentucky Wildcats and NBA player; head coach at Samford University
Will Rabatin, football player
Lee Reherman, former American Gladiator, American football player, and actor
Desmond Ridder, American football player
Mike Silliman, Olympic gold medalist and NBA player
Trey Sweeney, baseball player
Bob Talamini, American football player
Justin Thomas, professional golfer, winner of the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022
Will Wolford, former NFL player and owner of Louisville Fire; St. Xavier head football coach, 2013–2018 		Business
Boland T. Jones, entrepreneur and executive
John C. Lechleiter, CEO of Eli Lilly and Company
Paul C. Varga, former chief executive officer and Chairman of Brown–Forman
Entertainment and media
Leo Burmester, actor
Tom Cruise, actor (transferred before graduation)[36]
Bob Edwards, former Sirius XM Radio and National Public Radio host
Carl Ellsworth, screenwriter (Red Eye and Disturbia, among others)
William Mapother, actor
Victor Mature, actor, 1940s and 1950s film star
Don Rosa, Eisner Award-winning writer and artist of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books
The McFarlands, YouTube family channel
Government
Jared Bauman, American politician[37]
Frank W. Burke, former Democratic member of United States House of Representatives and mayor of Louisville
Jack Conway, former Kentucky Attorney General and 2015 Democratic nominee for governor
Romano Mazzoli, former Democratic member of United States House of Representatives
Chris Seelbach, Cincinnati City Councilmember
William B. Stansbury, mayor of Louisville
Justin R. Walker, United States district judge of the Western District of Kentucky[38]

Musicians

See also

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for St Xavier High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  2. Back to citation Staff. "Saint Xavier High School Founder". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  3. Back to citation "Project X Facts". Archived from the original on April 2, 2010.
  4. Back to citation Myers, Elizabeth (May 24, 2016). "Best of Louisville 2016 Finalists Announced". Louisville Magazine. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  5. Back to citation "2018–2019 Audited School Enrollments (in size order)" (PDF). Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  6. Back to citation In the cited KHSAA enrollment listing, schools are organized from smallest enrollment to largest, without regard to whether a school is single-sex or coeducational. However, all listings include separate entries for enrollments of boys and girls.
  7. Back to citation "Saint Xavier: Tradition Unequaled". Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  8. Back to citation "Sports Illustrated: Best Prep Athletic Programs in the Nation". SportsOnTheSide. 1995–2005.
  9. Back to citation "St. Xavier 2009 Kentucky High School Football". Scoreboard KHSAA. 2009.
  10. Back to citation "St. Xavier 2009 Kentucky High School Boys Soccer". KHSAA Scoreboard Soccer. 2009.
  11. Back to citation Frakes, Jason (December 7, 2009). "St. X enjoys a fall sweep: Tigers win all 4 boys' state titles". Courier.
  12. Back to citation Patrick, Dick (September 21, 2005). "High school rivals are like family". USA Today. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  13. Back to citation Karell, Daniel (September 30, 2016). "Top five most-attended St. X-Trinity games". usatodayhhs.com. USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  14. Back to citation "Trinity beats St. Xavier in Class 6A final behind Rondale Moore's big game". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  15. Back to citation "Flashback: St. Xavier vs. Trinity". WSTX Sports. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  16. Back to citation "St. Xavier Football Year-by-Year Results". Max Preps.
  17. Back to citation "Kevin Wallace named new football coach at St. Xavier High School". courier journal. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  18. Back to citation Frakes, Jason. "St. Xavier High School football coach Will Wolford steps down". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  19. Back to citation Bittenbender, Steve. "title". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  20. Back to citation Revel, Conor. "St. X swimming wins 30th straight state title and 54th overall". Catholic Sports Net. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  21. Back to citation Moore, Josh. "Golf powerhouse St. Xavier three-peats at KHSAA state tournament". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  22. Back to citation "KHSAA Cross Country Championship records" (Microsoft Word, PDF). KHSAA.
  23. Back to citation "St. Xavier cross country 13th at nationals". USA Today Hss. December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  24. Back to citation "St. Xavier, Floyd Central take titles at Tiger Run cross country meet". Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  25. Back to citation "KHSAA Soccer Championship records" (Microsoft Word, PDF). KHSAA.
  26. Back to citation "Athletic Facilities". Saint Xavier High School. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  27. Back to citation "Sprint football season preview: Knights ready for inaugural season" (Press release). Bellarmine Knights. September 15, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  28. Back to citation "St. X wraps up $3 million classroom renovation project". Louisville Business Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  29. Back to citation "St. Xavier 2007 Kentucky High School Baseball". Kentucky High School Athletic Association. 2007.
  30. Back to citation "St. Xavier 73 South Oldham 53". Max Preps. 2009.
  31. Back to citation "St. X adding indoor golf facility on campus". USA TODAY High School Sports. June 24, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  32. Back to citation Rucker, Rudy. "Rudy Rucker's Biography". rudyrucker.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  33. Back to citation "Chris Burke Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  34. Back to citation "Paul Byrd Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  35. Back to citation "Dicky Lyons". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  36. Back to citation Daly, Michael (July 9, 2012). "Tom Cruise Was on Track to Become a Priest in His Youth". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  37. Back to citation "About Jared". Vote Jared Bauman for State House. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  38. Back to citation "Walker confirmed as federal judge for Western District of Kentucky". The Lane Report. October 29, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
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