DAYTON — The 2025-26 girls’ and boys’ basketball state championships will be played in the Dayton area.
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The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced that the girls’ and boys’ basketball state championships will be held in March.
Most of the games will be played at the University of Dayton Arena, according to an OHSAA spokesperson.
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The girls’ state tournament will span three days, while the boys’ tournament will stretch over four days.
All 21 state basketball tournament games for both the girls and boys will be held in the Dayton area this year.
The University of Dayton Arena will host many of the events, including the semifinals and championships.
Wright State University and Vandalia Butler High School will also host some semifinal games in this year’s expanded format, the spokesperson added.
In a significant change from last season, when the OHSAA expanded the tournament from four divisions to seven, all games will now be in the Dayton area for their Final Four weekends.
“When we expanded to seven divisions, we looked at several models for how to conduct the state tournament,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. “Last year, we used the football model that had the state semifinals on their own weekend around the state. We certainly had some great environments and less travel for the teams, but the feedback from the coaches was that they preferred larger venues and the opportunity to have a weekend at the state tournament, so we have worked hard to set that up with additional sites, just like we do in baseball and girls volleyball.”
The seating capacities for the venues are: UD Arena at 13,400, the Nutter Center at Wright State University at 10,000, and Vandalia Butler High School at 4,500, OHSAA said.
“The Dayton area is such a great host for the basketball state tournaments,” said Ute. “UD Arena creates an amazing environment for the teams and fans. The Nutter Center at Wright State University has been a great host through the years for several of our sports, as has Butler High School, which has an outstanding gymnasium. We are thankful for their partnership and willingness to host these big games.”
The breakdown of the tournament schedule is as follows:
The girls’ tournament will kick off with Division I girls’ semifinals on March 12 at 6 p.m. in UD Arena. It will conclude with championships on March 14.
The boys’ tournament will feature the first semifinals on March 21 at Wright State, concluding with the championship at UD Arena on March 22.
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