OHSAA girls basketball state tournament moving to Dayton
If the Hiland Lady Hawks and other area girls basketball teams plan on a trip to the state tournament next winter, they will have to do so farther from home. The OHSAA is moving the state tournament to the University of Dayton.
OHSAA executive director Jerry Snodgrass said the University of Dayton Arena will host the Ohio High School Athletic Association girls basketball state tournament for the next three years. Having hosted 125 NCAA basketball tournament games, UD Arena has been the home court for March Madness more than any other facility in the country.
Renovated in 2019, UD Arena has a seating capacity of 13,000 and has played host to many OHSAA basketball tournament games, along with Atlantic 10 Conference and NCAA tournament games. During the regular season, it is the home of the very successful University of Dayton Flyers women’s and men’s basketball teams.
“We are very excited to sign a three-year agreement for our member schools to experience UD Arena,” Snodgrass said. “Southwest Ohio loves and supports basketball, and the people at the University of Dayton have made it clear that they really want this state tournament on their campus. We believe that we have found a great home for the girls basketball state tournament.”
UD Arena recently completed a transformation project that was the largest construction effort in the university’s history. It is regarded as one of the nation’s premier basketball facilities to go along with fan support that consistently ranks among the best in college basketball.
“We’re very proud that the OHSAA has entrusted us to host the girls basketball state tournament at the University of Dayton Arena for the next three years,” said Scott DeBolt, senior associate athletics director at the University of Dayton and executive director of UD Arena. “The same ingredients that make UD Arena the ideal place for the NCAA First Four — community support and excitement for the game of basketball, our facilities, staff, and tournament-hosting experience — will help create lifelong memories for the young women who come to Dayton to play in the state tournament and their school communities.”
In the 45 years of the OHSAA girls basketball state tournament, it has been hosted at the Ohio State University 44 times (all but 1986 when it was hosted at the University of Akron). However, there are now a limited number of dates available to use OSU’s Jerome Schottenstein Center or St. John Arena in March.
The 2021 girls basketball state tournament is scheduled for March 11-13. The 2021 OHSAA boys basketball state tournament will be played at St. John Arena March 18-20. There is currently no host site in place for the boys basketball state tournament in 2022.