OHSAA basketball state tournaments returning to traditional Final Four

COLUMBUS — Next March, the Ohio High School Athletic Association girls and boys basketball state tournaments will return to the traditional format of the Final Four. All state semifinalists will again be converging in the same area in one weekend for the final two rounds of the state tournament. The University of Dayton Arena will continue to host all seven state championship games, along with several semifinal games. However, the UD Arena cannot host all 21 games of the state tournament with the new seven division format in basketball. Additional sites in the Dayton area will be announced as host sites for some state semifinal games. The OHSAA Board of Directors approved the change at its 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. Locally, SBC Lake champion Sandusky made the boys state semifinals and traveled three hours and 150 miles to play on a Sunday against Cincinnati Aiken in a Division III state semifinal. Aiken traveled just 57 miles and just over an hour. Elsewhere, state semifinal boys games were played at the Canton Field House, Wright State University, Wittenberg University, Otterbein University, Bowling Green State University, Ohio Dominican University and St. Clairsville High School. It was a similar situation in the girls state tournament. Semifinal games away from the title games at UD Arena included Mansfield Senior High School, Fairfield High School, Vandalia Butler High School, the Canton Field House, St. Marys Memorial High School, Elyria Catholic High School, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio University, Claymont High School, Elida High School and Dover High School. Ute said the feedback the OHSAA received from the coaches at the 2025 tournament led the association to make the proposal for the traditional model to return to the governing board. "It will require additional sites," Ute said. "There are some great options in that area and we are already working on those details." Last fall, the volleyball state tournament, which also had 21 contests, utilized three additional sites to supplement Wright State University. This coming June, the baseball state tournament will use one additional site. Firestone Stadium in Akron is available that week to host the 21 games of the softball state tournament. Also last fall, soccer expanded to five divisions for girls and boys, with the state semifinals taking place mid-week and the winners advancing to Historic Crew Stadium for 10 championship games over four days. The specific state tournament schedule and additional sites will be announced at a later date.