Open Door Policy

Last spring Sports Illustrated published probably the most selective ranking in all of sports. Of the more than 38,000 high schools in the U.S., fewer than one in a thousand made their listing of the nation’s top 25 athletic programs. Criteria emphasized all-around excellence during the last ten years and included both state titles won and college athletes produced. Ranked #6 on the list was Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. Having a tradition of outstanding football teams, Mater Dei is one of three schools that boasts two Heisman Trophy winners – John Huarte (1961) who won the Heisman in 1964 at Notre Dame and Matt Leinart (200l) who captured the award last fall at USC. Leinart and many other high school All-Americans have been coached by Bruce Rollinson, a fixture as head coach at the school for the past 17 years. Rollinson is a Mater Dei alum (class of ’67) who played for