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Since Pennsylvania expanded to six classifications in high school football, no program has been as dominant as St. Joe’s Prep. The Philadelphia catholic school has appeared in eight of the last 10 Class 6A championship games, winning seven.
Prep’s dominance, as well as the dominance of other private schools across separate classifications, has led to a debate among those in the state as to whether private schools should be allowed to compete against public schools in the postseason.
The Hawks have benefited from the ability to pull talent from across the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware area, including superstars like Marvin Harrison Jr., Josiah Trotter, Kyle McCord, and many more.
Now it appears that their advantage might soon become even larger.
Billionaire Alum Gifts St Joe’s Prep $74 Million For New Athletic Complex
Despite its dominance, St. Joe’s Prep doesn’t have its own home field or practice facility. In recent years, the school has used 35 different fields across the area to host athletic events.
Now that’s set to change.
According to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, billionaire graduate Nick Howley and his wife Lorie have gifted the school $74 million, marking the largest donation to a United States catholic high school in history
As part of the donation, the school the 160-year-old school is set to make the largest upgrades it has ever seen.
BREAKING: St. Joseph’s Prep has announced the largest donation to a Catholic high school in U.S. history.
A portion of the $74 million gift from Nick Howley ’70, his wife Lorie, and The Howley Foundation will fund an on-campus athletic complex.@pclsportsnet @SJPBroadcasting pic.twitter.com/0bADNfExgw
— Anthony Sorgi (@asorgimedia) April 17, 2026
“This is a transformative gift,” St. Joseph’s Prep School president John Marinacci said of the donation. “This allows us to sustain and grow our mission. We had 35 different home fields for practices and games. Every time we played a field sport, we got on a bus or in a car.
“Nobody’s been displaced — we haven’t seized land, or grabbed, or moved anybody who didn’t want to sell. We’ve always been very proud of where we are, and the fact that we’ve remained in the city, and we want to do this the right way.”
While the gift is a massive boost for one of the nation’s top high school football programs, it’s sure to stoke the fires of the continuing debate about separate public and private schools moving forward.
