History

Minooka athletics were born in a barn.

It wasn’t until after MCHS became a four-year high school in 1941 that organized school sports started. The school itself was then located at the northwest corner of Massasoit and Church streets, where the current Minooka Primary Center is.

But according to local historian Tom Smith (MCHS class of 1973), they played their basketball games a couple blocks away -- in a barn on the northeast corner of Massasoit and Mondamin streets. Horses were even kept there, and the barn had neither running water nor real locker rooms. Games continued in the barn until additional classrooms and a gymnasium were added to the school in the 1950s.

The boys had a softball team then -- it became a baseball team in 1946 -- but they played abbreviated schedules to conserve fuel during World War II.

Girls only had the option of cheerleading until the 1960s, when the Girls Athletic Club started. The GAC was an opportunity for girls to compete against each other in intramural sports like volleyball and softball.

In the spring of 1954, Minooka started a boys track and field team. Wrestling began during the fall of 1961, and the first boys cross country team ran in the fall of 1967.

In 1970, the district opened a new building (the current Central Campus) at the northeast corner of Wabena Avenue and McEvilly Street. The new building had no track facilities, so the team practiced in the grass.

In 1971, a stadium opened for the first Minooka football team. Most games were played on Saturday afternoons, so the home bleachers were built on the east side of the field. A cinder track was also added. Students celebrated Homecoming for the first time the following year.

After the passage of Title IX in 1972, girls began competing in sports: volleyball and soccer in the fall of 1973, and girls track and field in the spring of 1974.

1977 proved to be a landmark year for Minooka athletics. That spring the boys track and field team brought home Minooka’s first state team trophy by finishing third. A few months later, the boys cross country team mirrored the effort with their own third-place finish at the state finals. Basketball would debut for the girls that year, as well.

As enrollment continued to grow in the Minooka community, so did the number of sports. The 1980s brought girls cross country, girls softball, and poms.

The 1990s added girls tennis, boys tennis, girls bowling, boys soccer, boys golf, girls golf, and boys volleyball. By the spring of 1998, the cinder track had been replaced by an all-weather version.

The 2000s brought many changes. Boys bowling was added in 2002, and in 2008, South Campus opened. Boys basketball and boys volleyball would now play their home games there.

In 2010, the wrestling team would bring home the school’s first team state championship. A few years later in 2018, boys and girls lacrosse officially competed for Minooka. In 2021, girls wrestling had its own team for the first time.