A Tampa Tradition
In 1899, the school was founded by the Jesuit priests of Sacred Heart Church in downtown
Tampa. Known then as Sacred Heart College, and a little later as Tampa College, the school was
renamed Jesuit High School in 1940 in honor of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the
Jesuit Order.
In 1956, Jesuit High School relocated from its turn-of-the-century location to its
present-day Himes Avenue campus. The Himes Avenue location allowed the school to expand
enrollment and provided the space to put down more permanent roots and flourish.
For more than a century, great care has been taken to nurture the original mission of the
school and to cultivate its academic standards, campus
environment, and spiritual identity.
The success of Jesuit High School is supported by the
progress of more than 8,000 graduates and by the continued
presence of great grandsons, grandsons, sons, and brothers of
alumni in the composition of its student body.
1899 — Founded as Sacred Heart College by the Jesuit
priests of Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa.
1940 — Renamed Jesuit High School in honor of the
400th Anniversary of the Society of Jesus.
1950 — Jesuit High School wins the basketball state championship under the direction of
Coach Paul Straub, the first time any Catholic school won a state title.
1956 — Relocated to its present day location on Himes Avenue, providing Jesuit with the
proper campus space environment to cultivate its original mission to academic excellence and
spiritual identity.
1987 — Jesuit High School is named a “School of Excellence” by the United States
Department of Education.
1999 — Jesuit High School celebrates its Centennial.
2004 — The Jesuit Memorial Bell Tower is completed and displays the school’s
connection to the nearly 500 years of Jesuit education world-wide. The names of all Jesuits who
have served at Jesuit since 1899, as well as all Jesuit saints and martyrs, are etched into
the tower’s bricks and cobblestones.
2012 — Jesuit High School’s newly opened state-of-the-art baseball stadium, Hyer Family
Park, is named “National Baseball Field of the Year” by the National High School Baseball
Coaches Association.
2014 — Jesuit begins the first phase of a long-term improvement campaign by transforming
the main entrance and creating a new brick and iron perimeter fence, with handsome signage,
outlining the footprint of the campus.
2016 — Jesuit breaks ground on a new chapel and administration/student services building,
as the school launches Phase I of its extraordinary $50 million campus master plan.
2018 — The Chapel of the Holy Cross and Gonzmart Hall are blessed and dedicated
and will serve the greater Tampa Bay community for generations.
2021 — Jesuit breaks ground on the Antinori Center
for the Arts. The 32,400 sq. ft. Antinori Center will
include a theatre, music wing, and 3D and
2D fine arts wing.