Marist football coach Mike Fitzgerald has a schedule concern for 2026, but it’s not what you’re probably thinking.
The latest CCL/ESCC realignment, which takes effect next season, moves the RedHawks into the elite Blue division.
Marist, which was 4-5 and missed the playoffs in 2025, joins three holdovers that have combined for eight state titles in the past four seasons: Mount Carmel, Brother Rice and Loyola.
“The CCL is the toughest conference in the state,” Fitzgerald told the Sun-Times. “Regardless of what division you’re in it’s going to be tough. We played four teams [that reached] the state finals [in 2025].”
The CCL/ESCC schedule has had teams playing three division games and four crossovers in Weeks 3-9 each year. Schools had to schedule the first two weeks on their own and sometimes were unable to do so. Loyola only played eight regular-season games in 2025 because it couldn’t fill Week 2.
Marist, meanwhile, wound up scheduling two more CCL/ESCC teams to open the 2025 season. One was Pulaski Road rival and eventual Class 7A champ Brother Rice in an annual rivalry matchup.
Now Marist/Brother Rice will be a conference game, and the interest level figures to be ramped up even higher because it’s scheduled for Week 9.
The 2025 game against 7A finalist St. Rita came together later because both teams were running out of time to schedule a season opener.
The recent vote to expand the IHSA playoff field from 256 to 384 teams should make it easier to schedule nonconference games now that schools won’t have to chase five wins. Under the new format, teams with three or four wins — and possibly some with two victories — are expected to qualify.
With the CCL/ESCC alignment set for 2026, now Marist will be working the phones to fill its nonconference schedule.
“That’s the more challenging part of it now,” Fitzgerald said. “No one wants to play Catholic League teams.”
The realignment is based on three factors: a school’s CCL/ESCC wins over the past two years, the number of players in its football program and its male enrollment.
Eleven of the CCL/ESCC’s 24 schools will be changing divisions, which are ranked in this order: Blue, Green, Orange, White, Purple and Red.
The new Green looks to be one of the state’s best conferences with Class 4A champ Montini (up from the White), 5A champ St. Francis, 7A runner-up St. Rita and 6A semifinalist Nazareth.
Class 6A champ Fenwick and Carmel move up to the Orange from the White, joining 5A runner-up Providence and St. Ignatius (down from the Blue).
Seeing the biggest shakeup is the White with DePaul Prep (up from the Purple), IC Catholic (down from the Green), Joliet Catholic (down from the Orange) and St. Laurence.
The new Purple has Marmion (up from the Red), Notre Dame (down from the Orange), Benet and St. Patrick.
Making up the Red are St. Viator (down from the Purple), De La Salle, Leo and Marian Catholic.
Tough conference or not, Marist aims to return to the IHSA playoffs next year even without three graduating Division I recruits: tight end Stephen Brown (North Carolina State) and offensive lineman Rico Schrieber (Purdue) and Danzel Newell (New Mexico).
Some returners expected to play big roles in 2026 include four current juniors: all-conference safety Tommy Hosty, who also saw action at quarterback; junior running back Conor Hunt; offensive lineman Peter Vrdolyak; and fullback/H-back Marquis Steel.
“It just comes down to stepping it up and working hard,” Fitzgerald said. “It comes down to the offseason. Every little detail matters.”