Dayton will host OHSAA girls and boys basketball tournaments for next three years
DAYTON, Ohio (BVM) — UD Dayton Arena is known as the home of the Dayton Flyers. It is also known as one of the common homes of March Madness, and has hosted 125 NCAA Tournament games — more than any other arena in the country.
Now, the arena will be holding even more games in March, as the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) recently announced that the 2022, 2023 and 2024 girls and boys high school basketball tournaments will be held in Dayton, Ohio.
Prior to this season, every girls tournament in Ohio outside of 1986 was hosted by Ohio State. However, in May 2020, the OHSAA announced that the 2021 girls tournament would be held in Dayton. Now, the new agreement ensures that will be the case for the next three years.
The boys tournament this past season was also held in Dayton, although it was originally scheduled to be played at St. John Arena at Ohio State but was moved due to COVID-19 concerns. The boys tournament had also been hosted by Ohio State since 1957, except for the 1986 and 1987 seasons when it was in Dayton.
The move marks a new era for state tournament basketball in Ohio, but it might just be the perfect spot. In 2019, UD Dayton Arena was renovated, and holds a seating capacity of 13,000. Between some of the Flyers’ recent success as well as some of the NCAA Tournament games it has hosted, the arena continues to build a storied history, and this move will only add to it.
After the 2021 tournaments in Dayton went well, OHSAA executive director Doug Ute is excited to bring them back for the next three years.
“We are very excited that our student-athletes will get to play at UD Arena,” Ute said in a statement. “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.”
Scott DeBolt — senior associate athletics director at the University of Dayton and executive director of UD Arena — echoed similar sentiments, and is excited to add to the great tradition the venue already has.
“We are very excited to host the state tournaments at UD Arena,” DeBolt said in a statement. “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 move may signify a new chapter for OHSAA basketball, but with the prior history at Dayton, it is sure to be a success.
