“We’ve had the girls games for the past year, and we were hoping to still do that,” said UD Arena Director Scott DeBolt on Tuesday after the OHSAA announcement. “Just in talking to the OHSAA, we said if we can get this variance, we’re happy to host both. With no First Four, it kind of opened things up for the girls and boys tournaments. We’re trying to do our part of the community and give these high school student-athletes an opportunity to finish out their seasons on a high note playing at UD.”
Approximately, 1,340 fans will be allowed at the games. UD Arena can seat 13,407.
The girls state tournament will be held from March 11-13. The boys state tournament will take take place a week later: March 19-21.
The times for both tournaments are the same. The semifinals will take place at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on March 11-12 and March 19-20. The championships will be held at 10:45 a.m., 2 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on March 13 and 21.
The games will be played in this order: Division IV, III, II and I. The semifinals will be streamed on OHSAA.tv, while Spectrum News 1 will televise the semifinals.
“We are so excited that the University of Dayton has such a strong desire to host our basketball state tournaments and for all they did to receive a variance to allow more fans to attend,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director, in a press release. “We thank the health department officials for their cooperation as we worked through this request and we are committed to following the safety protocols they have in place. Our schools have gone through so much since last March and we are thrilled that the season will culminate with the state tournaments at such a great venue as UD Arena.”
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