Official governance for high school sports in this area began in 1913, when the Southern California Interscholastic Athletic Council (SCIAC) was formed. Previous to that, some individual leagues dated back to the 1890s. The High School Athletic Association of Southern California was formed in 1904 to create a championship in the sport of
track and field, precipitating the need for administering all sports. In 1914, the name was changed to the Southern Section also releasing the acronym SCIAC which was taken locally by the
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the following year. In 1917, the CIF took over administering sports statewide and the Southern Section became a part of it. The Southern Section was a behemoth, the largest section covering the most populated southern half of the state. In 1935, the
Los Angeles Unified School District split from the section, forming their own Los Angeles City Section. Private schools within the city limits remained in the Southern Section. Since the advent of
charter schools in the Los Angeles area, several high schools are no longer under the direct governance of LAUSD, but remain with the historical leagues and the Los Angeles City Section. ==Sports==