the school sponsors teams in basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, and track & field for both boys and girls. the school sponsors teams in baseball and football for boys, while girls also compete in cheerleading, softball, and volleyball. the school is an independent school which does not participate in a conference or league, but is a member of the illinois high school association (ihsa) which sponsors and governs statewide competition in many sports. for most of its history, mater dei competed in the class a, or smaller school classification. in recent years, the use of a multiplier on private schools has raised the school to the larger class (aa). they now compete in class 3a of the newly implemented four-class system.