Cathedral High School opened under the direction of Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid in 1902 and was renamed Rochester Catholic High School in 1914. Rochester Catholic officially changed its name to The Aquinas Institute in 1923 and The Aquinas Institute opened on Dewey Avenue in 1925. The Aquinas board of trustees approved the admission of female students when St. Agnes High School closed in 1982.

The Li'l Irish name was born in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Aquinas was known throughout the country for football. ArmDrag.com has (incomplete) records of Aquinas having a wrestling team in 1976, 1980, 1981, & 1982. More recently, beginning in 2013-14, Aquinas has offered wrestling as a combined team with Northstar Christian Academy.

1979-80 L'il Irish