By Andrew Winter
1. Pius X High School is the largest Catholic high school in all of Nebraska, with approximately 1,100 students and a 21.7-acre campus.
2. Pius X opened its doors in 1956 with 168 students. Originally only grades 10-12 were accepted; the first class of freshman was admitted in 1967. At first, the school participated in four sports: football, basketball, track, and golf.
3. Pius X places great emphasis on athletics programs, offering 21 sports: 10 for girls and 11 for boys.
4. Although the annual cost of educating each student is $8,008, tuition is less than half of this total. The normal cost of tuition per year is approximately $3,800, but many students pay even less thanks to the many scholarship opportunities offered by the school. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the student body received more than $1 million in scholarships.
5. Through the years, the Pius X building has undergone a myriad of expansions and renovations. A new wing was added in 1961, the L/PAC performing arts center and wrestling facilities in 1977, additional lockers and the library in 1982, and the Kaczmarek chapel in the late 1980s. 1993 and 2006 saw several major renovations and additions, improving most of the building. In 2019, yet another wing of classrooms was added onto the west end of the complex, and in 2024, Pius X completed a renovation of its entryway, improving the front office setup and secure entry method.
6. The mascot of Pius X is the Thunderbolts, so named by Msgr. Ivan Vap and companions in 1956. Msgr. Vap, Coach Vince Aldrich—after whom the football field is named—and two others were driving to Columbus to scope out one of Pius X’s new football rivals, and ran into a great looming storm. Msgr. Vap was studying meteorology for his pilot’s license at the time, and as the men got to talking about the storm, the idea of the thunderbolt struck them all together. When Pius X played (and won) its first-ever football game the next week, the boys played as the “Pius X Thunderbolts”
7. Pius X offers more than100 semester-long and year-long courses annually, as well as a selection of AP courses and dual-credit courses. The school offers dance, choir, orchestra, band, competitive speech, mock trial, pro-life club, chess club, and more. The school is very proud of its academic decathlon team, where students of varying abilities study advanced courses and test their knowledge in competitions across the nation.
8. Pius X is once again looking to expand both its mission and its facilities. Construction has already begun on the new performing arts center. At the rear of the school Pius X plans to add new locker rooms, weight rooms, and wrestling rooms. There are also plans to expand the chapel to draw more students into deeper relationship with God.
9. Pius X has 19 endowed funds to cover operating costs and offer scholarships to students, especially students from impoverished families. It also has its own foundation, which the school hopes to grow to $25 million in the near future.
