UD Arena to host OHSAA boys and girls basketball tournaments through 2024

UD Arena will host the girls and boys tournaments together (boys in 1986-87) for the first time ever. Photo courtesy of UD Athletics.

Taylor Robertson 

Assistant Sports Editor

The Ohio High School Athletic Association and the University of Dayton announced Monday that the OHSAA boys and girls basketball tournaments will be held at the UD Arena for the next three years. The OHSAA Executive Director, Doug Ute, held a press conference at UD Arena on Monday with Scott DeBolt, the Senior Associate Athletics Director for University of Dayton and Executive Director for UD Arena. 

“We are very excited that our student-athletes will get to play at UD Arena,” Ute said. “Even with the pandemic limiting what all could take place at the state tournaments last March, our schools still had a great experience at UD Arena, and UD made it very clear that they wanted to host both the girls and boys state tournaments moving forward. We know that the support for basketball in Southwest Ohio is very strong and UD wants to be the home of the state tournaments.”

UD Arena has been the home court for March Madness more than any other facility in the country. University of Dayton has been host to 125 NCAA basketball tournament games along with the Atlantic 10 Conference. The arena was recently renovated in 2019 with the capacity to hold over 13,000 spectators.

“We are very excited to host the state tournaments at UD Arena,” DeBolt said. “In addition to our love of the Dayton Flyers, we are so proud to host many great events here, including the NCAA First Four, and we are pleased and grateful to welcome the OHSAA girls and boys basketball state tournaments to UD Arena. Our community will support the state tournaments just like our other events and this will be a special place for the teams, schools and communities that reach the state tournaments.”

The new agreement for the boys and girls basketball state tournaments through the years 2022-2024 will replace the previous contract.

When the 2021 OHSAA boys basketball state tournament was moved from OSU’s St. John’s Arena because of COVID-19, no contract was in place beyond the voided 2021 tournament.

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