# Bishop Kelley High School

Bishop Kelley High School is an American Lasallian Catholic high school with 905 students, grades 9 to 12, located at 41st and Hudson Avenue, in the center of the Tulsa metropolitan area (in the Midtown area), on a campus spanning just over 47 acres (150,000 m$^2$). The school is formerly a function of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, but is now incorporated separately, and operates in the Lasallian tradition of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (Christian Brothers or the French Christian Brothers).
Bishop Kelley is a comprehensive secondary school with a college-preparatory style curriculum consisting of tracks designed to fit a variety of learning abilities and interests. Bishop Kelley students come from 53 different zip codes, with incoming freshmen and transfer students matriculating from more than 30 middle schools across Northeast Oklahoma. Students come from a variety of faith and educational backgrounds. They are traditionally welcomed with extensive freshman orientation activities.
Though Bishop Kelley is the flagship diocesan Catholic high school for the Diocese of Tulsa, it serves both Catholic and non-Catholic students. The school consistently ranks as one of the best private high schools in Oklahoma.

## History

Bishop Kelley was established in 1960 to serve as Tulsa's citywide Catholic high school. At the time of its founding, its forerunners, Holy Family High School (founded 1899) and Marquette High School (founded in 1926), closed and consolidated their student bodies into the newly formed Bishop Kelley High School. While the initial plans for the school were developed under Bishop Eugene J. McGuinness' leadership, it was the pioneering Bishop Victor Joseph Reed who oversaw its founding. Bishop Reed was a famous Catholic reformer who attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, where he was associated with the more progressive bishops, lending his support to the use of vernacular in the Mass and to an emphasis of pastoral over administrative skills in bishops. Bishop Reed is in part responsible for the high school's legacy of lay leadership. In 1960, the year Bishop Kelley High School was founded, Bishop Reed established the first mixed (clerical and lay) diocesan board of education in the United States.
The school was named for Bishop Francis Kelley, the second bishop of Oklahoma. The founder of the Catholic Church Extension Society, Bishop Kelley was an accomplished author and diplomat, whom H.L. Mencken described as "a charming Irishman" who "has had a brilliant career in the Church." He famously partnered with California oilman Edward L. Doheny to support Catholic philanthropy.
At its founding, male students were taught by the LaSallian (French) Christian Brothers, while the Sisters of Divine Providence from San Antonio, Texas taught the female students. By 1965, the school had become entirely coeducational. By 1982, the Sisters of Divine Providence had been reassigned to other ministries. As of the end of the school year 2020–2021, the Christian Brothers no longer have a presence on the campus.
The original school building was designed by architect Robert Lawton Jones, a Tulsa Catholic who had been a protege of Mies van der Rohe.

## Activities

Co-curricular opportunities include Academic Bowl, Christian Service, Class Board, Comet Ambassadors, Competitive One-Act, Drama, Drumline, Environmental Club, FCA, Foreign Language Clubs,3 on 3, Jazz Choir, Kairos, Kelley Krazies (a spirit organization), Link Crew (dedicated to mentoring freshmen), Lasallian Youth, Mission Trips, National Forensic League, Performing Arts, Play Production/Theater Tech, Photography Club, ProLife Club, Retreats, Robotics, and Student Council. The school is a frequent winner of state championships in speech and debate, academic bowl, and robotics competitions.

## Athletics

Bishop Kelley has won more state championships than any other school of its size in Oklahoma, including state championships in baseball, football, soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, tennis, golf and cross country. Its women's volleyball and women's soccer teams have been nationally ranked. Bishop Kelley was the first Tulsa high school to support a lacrosse team.
NCAA head coach Barry Hinson (currently coaching at Southern Illinois University) coached the men's basketball team at Bishop Kelley. Bishop Kelley is also the site for Russell Westbrook's "Why Not" Basketball camp.

### Battle of the Bishops Rivalry

In football, Bishop Kelley shares a tradition with cross-state rival Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School. The winner of the contest obtains possession of the "Shillelagh Trophy" for the upcoming year. The schools also compete annually in boys and girls basketball.

### State championships

Academic Bowl – 1993, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2005*, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024
Baseball – 1976, 1978, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2018
Boys Basketball – 1995
Boys Cross Country – 1967, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 2005, 2008, 2024
Girls Cross Country – 1985, 1986, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024
Fast Pitch Softball – 1977, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2001
Football – 1981
Boys Golf – 1986, 1988, 1993, 2002, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2021
Girls Golf – 1996, 2000, 2001, 2006
Boys Soccer – 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Girls Soccer – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2021
Speech and Debate – 1993, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013
Boys Tennis – 1995, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019
Girls Tennis – 1985, 1987, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2021
Volleyball – 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2020
Boys Swimming – 2019, 2020, 2021
Wrestling – 1974, 1975, 1984, 1985
Spirit Squad – 2016, 2017, 2018
Total : 132
* The 2005 Bishop Kelley Academic Bowl team defeated the national champion academic bowl team in a scrimmage, but did not compete against them during the regular season because they were in a different athletic class.

## Notable Bishop Kelley people
### Bishop Kelley alumni
#### Arts, entertainment, media and letters

* Robert Bryce – journalist, commentator and author (books include Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron)
* Chris Combs – avant-garde jazz composer and musician; guitarist for Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
* Samantha Isler – film and television actress best known for her role in Captain Fantastic and The CW series Supernatural
* Olivia Jordan – actress, pageant winner (Miss USA 2015 and Miss World America 2013)
* Frank Main – reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times and winner of 2011 Pulitzer Prize
* Matt Villines (1995) – film director (Funny or Die, Saturday Night Live)
* Alfre Woodard – film and television actress (Academy Award-nominee; four-time Emmy Award winner; Grammy nominee)

#### Business, politics and civic life

* Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. – businessman and 39th Mayor of Tulsa
* John E. Dowdell – United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
* Robert Kerr Goodwin – CEO of Points of Light; former Publisher of Oklahoma Eagle (one of America's most influential black-owned newspapers)
* John M. O'Connor – nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
* Geoffrey Standing Bear – Principal Chief of Osage Nation
* John Sullivan – former United States congressman (R-Oklahoma)
* Children of Frank William Abagnale Jr. – FBI security consultant and criminal informant. Co-author of autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, inspiring Spielberg film of the same name.

#### Sports

* Inky Ajanaku – Professional volleyball player (gold medalist at 2015 Pan American Games)
* Patrick Callan – Olympic swimmer
* Dale Cook – WKA world champion in kickboxing, boxer and martial artist
* Rick Dickson – Athletic Director at University of Tulsa, Tulane University and Washington State University
* Matt Gogel – PGA golfer and golf commentator for CBS Sports
* Randy Heckenkemper – golf course architect
* Dallas Keuchel – Major League Baseball pitcher, winner of 2015 Cy Young Award
* Chip McCaw – Olympic athlete and volleyball coach at Pepperdine University
* Charlie O'Brien – Major League Baseball catcher
* Matt Reynolds – Major League Baseball infielder
* Jason Staurovsky – NFL placekicker
* Donnie Walton – Major League Baseball infielder
* Rick Wrona – Major League Baseball catcher

### Notable former faculty and staff

* Barry Hinson- American college coach for Oral Roberts (1997–1999), Missouri State (1999–2008) & Southern Illinois Salukis (2012–2019) men's basketball teams
* Daniel Henry Mueggenborg – auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Seattle, former Vice Rector Pontifical North American College at the Vatican. On July 20, 2021, he was appointed bishop of Reno.
* Peter Bryan Wells – Catholic archbishop and diplomat (currently serving as Apostolic Nuncio to South Africa; formerly Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State)