Fairfield College Preparatory School

Jesuit prep school in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

Fairfield College Preparatory School (Fairfield Prep) is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all male school of about 800 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942.

The bishop of Diocese of Bridgeport brought the Jesuits to the diocese in 1942 with the purchase of the adjoining estates of Jennings and Lashar off North Benson Road in Fairfield. The school began operations first; the university followed in 1947. Prep was first accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in 1945. The prep campus proper is on the east central side of the university and has its own sports field, while having use of university facilities for many activities. The three, conjoined Prep buildings occupy a hill overlooking Long Island Sound on the 200 acre campus it shares with the university. Students come from 51 towns across Connecticut, with the majority of the students from Bridgeport, Trumbull, Stratford, Norwalk, and Fairfield. Ten percent are students of color.

Qualifying students are admitted to honors courses. Seventeen advanced placement (AP) courses are offered at Prep. Seniors who excel in math, science, and foreign languages are permitted to take courses next door at Fairfield University, at no additional tuition. Admission to the university library is also permitted to Prep students.

Fairfield College Preparatory School is part of the Quinnipiac Division in the Southern Connecticut Conference. The school fields 15 varsity sports including football, soccer, cross country, basketball, ice hockey, swimming & diving, wrestling, skiing, baseball, lacrosse, track & field, rugby, golf, crew, and sailing. Prep's athletic teams have won 49 CIAC state championships and numerous other state titles in non CIAC sports.

Prep has won 18 state championships, the most recent in 2019 where Prep defeated Notre Dame West Haven 5–2 at the Yale Whale. Prep has had four players work their way up to the National Hockey League, including Chris '94 and Ted Drury '89, Jaime Sifers '01 and Mark Arcobello '06. Matt Sather '93 has coached the hockey team since 1999, leading it to eleven state championships. Since 1991, there has not been a 4 year class at Prep that has not won a state title in hockey.

Prep posted three straight undefeated regular seasons from 2007 to 2009 and won the CIAC Class L Championship in 2007. The Jesuits placed second behind rival Greenwich High School in the CIAC Class LL Championship in each season since the Class L title in 2007. In 2012, Fairfield Prep finished undefeated for the first time since 2009, and won their 8th straight SCC championship. The team won the 2012 Class LL and State Open Championships. Fairfield Subsequently lost Conference Championships in 2020 and 2021 to rival Xavier High School from Middletown.

Prep's lacrosse program has won six state titles since 2006 with three runner up finishes during that time. The team won most recently in 2013, beating Staples High School, for the school's 5th state championship. Christopher Smalkais coached the team for 33 years from 1983 to 2016 and won six state championships. He was inducted into the Connecticut Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2013. His introduction speech was given by 2011 Hall of Fame Inductee Howard Benedict, longtime New Canaan High School Lacrosse coach and a '63 Fairfield Prep alumnus.

Prep's tennis team has won 10 state team championships, with the most recent in 2003. Todd Paul, Class of 2003, won the Class LL Singles Championship four years in a row.

Prep Rugby has been perennial contenders under Coach Frank Decker, and have been runner up in every state championship match except one. Arch rival Greenwich High School won the championship each year. Prep rugby has many notable alumni, including Kenneth Stern '06 who attended Boston University and plays for the Philippines national team, and Will Brazier '01 who attended Fairfield University and played for the USA Tomahawks and the USA Falcons. In April 2016 Prep sponsored the first annual North East Jesuit Rugby Tournament, and prevailed over five other Jesuit schools. They have won 3 out of 4 Northeast Jesuit Tournaments.

Prep's rival is Xavier High School.