Next March, the Ohio High School Athletic Association girls and boys basketball state tournaments will return to the traditional Final Four format. Under this structure, all state semifinalists will converge in the same area during one weekend for the state tournament.
While the University of Dayton Arena will continue hosting all seven championship games and several semifinal games, it cannot accommodate all 21 games of the state tournament with the new seven-division format in basketball. Additional sites in the Dayton area will be announced to host some state semifinal games.
The OHSAA Board of Directors approved this change during their April meeting.
“We looked at several options on how to conduct this year’s state tournament with seven divisions, because UD Arena is not available to host all 21 games,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. “We settled on the football model, with the state semifinals held on the weekend prior to the state finals. The feedback we received from the coaches at this year’s state tournament led us to make this proposal to the board to go back to the traditional final four model, which will require additional sites. There are some great options in that area and we are already working on those details.”
For comparison, the girls volleyball state tournament last fall, which also featured 21 contests, utilized three additional sites to supplement Wright State University. The upcoming baseball state tournament will use one additional site, while Firestone Stadium in Akron can accommodate all 21 games of the softball state tournament this June.
Soccer expanded to five divisions for girls and boys last fall, with state semifinals taking place mid-week and winners advancing to Historic Crew Stadium for 10 championship games spread across four days.
The specific schedule and additional venues for the basketball state tournaments will be announced at a later date.
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