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The Cape-Atlantic League
Offering the best in scholastic sports competition since 1948
OUR HISTORY
The Cape-Atlantic League was formed in the Fall of 1948 by six schools - Cape May, Egg Harbor City,
Hammonton, Middle Township, Ocean City and Wildwood. In 1960, Egg Harbor City closed its doors and
Oakcrest opened. The next year, 1961-62, newly opened Mainland Regional joined the
league, along with Pleasantville, increasing the number of schools to eight.
The CAL remained at eight schools until 1968-69, when Sacred Heart and Wildwood Catholic became
the first non-public schools to join. That increased the number of schools to 10. Mainland and Oakcrest
left the league in 1969-70, dropping the number back to eight. It increased to 10 again in 1973-74
with the addition of Buena and St. Joseph of Hammonton.
Those were the 10 schools in the league in 1982-83, when the Cape-Atlantic League merged with the
Southern Division of the South Jersey Conference. That brought Mainland and Oakcrest back into the league along with
Atlantic City, Holy Spirit, Absegami, Millville, Vineland, Bridgeton and Cumberland. St. Augustine
Prep, previously an independent school, also joined. Two conferences - the American, for schools with larger
enrollments, and the smaller National - were created, generally along the same lines as the two old leagues.
Each conference has been broken up into two divisions in some sports, also determined by enrollment.
Egg Harbor Township joined in 1983 and, in subsequent years, Cape May Tech (1996) and Our Lady of Mercy (1998) came aboard. As the CAL entered a new century, Cumberland left to join the Tri-County Conference in 2000 and Wildwood, after 54 continuous years as a member, also left in 2002 to join the Tri-County Conference. In 2010 a new high school - Cedar Creek of Egg Harbor City - joined the league. Atlantic Tech followed in 2012. In 2013 Sacred Heart was closed by the Diocese of Camden. And, in 2014, Hammonton, an original member, left the CAL to join the Tri-County Conference after 66 years. Hammonton returned to the lerague in 2020.
Currently the Cape-Atlantic League comprises 22 schools from Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties. It has developed into one of the most successful leagues in the State of New Jersey.