Darren Kinnard/River Radio Sports Central
The IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals will remain at the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana for the foreseeable future.
At least the next five years anyway.
The IHSA Board of Directors announced on Thursday a contract extension that will run through 2029.
The boys basketball championships were played in Champaign from 1919-1995, the last 32 years of that time at the Assembly Hall, which was later renamed the State Farm Center. The IHSA moved the boys finals to Peoria in 1996, and it remained there for more than two decades. The boys finals returned to Champaign in 2022 (there were no IHSA basketball tournaments in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic). That initial three-year contract was up after this past season’s tournaments.
“The IHSA is thrilled for America’s Original March Madness to remain in Champaign-Urbana for the foreseeable future,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We appreciate the support that Champaign-Urbana and its surrounding communities, the University, State Farm Center, Experience Champaign-Urbana, and all the tournament volunteers annually provide for the state tournament. Champaign-Urbana has a long legacy of producing top tier events that lead to lifelong memories for IHSA players, coaches, schools, and their fans.”
The IHSA Board of Directors would like to keep the girls tournament at CEFCU Arena, on the campus of Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal. The Board has asked the IHSA staff to negotatiate an extension through 2029 there as well.
“CEFCU Arena and the Illinois State University campus in the only home the IHSA Girls Basketball State Finals have ever known, and it is our intention to extend that agreement through 2029 as well,” said Anderson. “There is mutual interest by the IHSA, Illinois State University, and the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to make that happen, and I anticipate we will have a formal announcement in the very near future.”
The IHSA plans to keep the current three-day (Thursday-Friday-Saturday), one weekend for all four classes format that was started in 2022. Now what that exact schedule will be is still to be determined.
Under the current format, the 1A and 2A semifinals are played on Thursday morning and afternoon, with the losers having to come back that same night to play in the third place games. The same thing happens on Friday for 3A and 4A teams, with all four state championship games played on Saturday.
While Championship Saturday has been very popular, many have voiced their displeasure for teams having to come back and play the third place game on the same day as the semifinals. Potential options include keeping the semifinals on Thursday and Friday while moving the third place games to the next day (Friday for 1A/2A, Saturday for 3A/4A), playing semifinals for all four classes on Thursday with all third place games on Friday, or keeping the semifinals on Thursday and Friday, but eliminating the third place games altogether.
The daily game and time schedule is being reviewed by the IHSA Basketball Advisory Committee and will be finalized at the IHSA Board of Directors meeting in June.
