Athletics

SPA offers 17 varsity sports with additional teams at the junior varsity and C squad level, and 77% of Upper School students participate in one or more of these teams. The Upper School athletic program is a part of the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC), an athletic conference made up of five other independent, liberal arts college preparatory schools in the Twin Cities area.

Upper School student-athletes are expected to demonstrate a high level of commitment to their sports and their teams. We consider the playing field an extension of the classroom and gauge athletic achievement both on the outcome of games and on the sportsmanship, continued improvement and leadership of team members.

SPA's varsity teams are highly competitive and are very successful in conference, section, and state tournament competitions:

• State Accolades: SPA sent multiple individual athletes and teams to state competitions in 2023-24: girls’ cross country, boys’ soccer (Class A state champion), girls’ soccer (Class A state champion), nordic skiing (sprint team, 2nd place, and four top-100 finishes), boys’ swim and dive, fencing (four top-5 finishes), boys’ tennis (Class A team state champion, Class A doubles state champion; third place in doubles; and first and second place in state singles), and track and field (9 state qualifiers and state champions in the girls’ 300m hurdles and boys’ 400m).
• Conference Accolades: girls’ cross country won the IMAC, girls’ swimming and diving took home the Conference Championship crown, girls’ nordic was crowned IMAC Conference Champions for the fourth consecutive year, and softball and boys' lacrosse captured IMAC Conference Championships.
• Individual Accolades: In addition, individual SPA athletes were recipients of more than 103 All-State and All-Conference honors in 2023-24.

After graduation, many Spartan athletes go on to successful careers in collegiate athletics. Since 2015, 16 SPA alumni/ae have gone on to play Division I sports in college, and another 57 participated in Division III athletics. 

For detailed information about SPA's athletic program, visit the Athletics section of our website or contact Paul Moyer, Director of Athletics.