(4-29-25) The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state girls and boys basketball tournaments will return to a format that will include the semifinals and finals all being held within a three- or four-day period during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.

The OHSAA Board of Directors approved modified basketball dates for the next two school years at its regularly scheduled meeting April 24th. The agenda or minutes for this meeting have not been posted yet on the association’s web page. But if the past serves us right…it was an unanimous vote by the Board of Directors.

Semifinals, finals to be held within three- or four-day period in 2025-26 season

The basketball state finals will remain at University of Dayton Arena and all semifinals will be held at the venue or other locations in the Dayton area, according to Tuesday’s OHSAA Administrator Update.

This past March, it was just the girls and boys basketball state finals played at UD Arena. The state semifinals were played at neutral locations. This past season was the first time time that girls and boys basketball went to seven divisions in each sport.

The starting date for regular season basketball contests will remain the same as previously published for the 2025-26 season, so eliminating an extra week for the state semifinals means schools will have an extra week to schedule regular season games prior to the start of OHSAA tournaments.

In 2026-27, the start of the regular season will be a week later, so that extra week will no longer be available.

Semifinals, finals to be held within three- or four-day period in 2025-26 season

The basketball state finals will remain at University of Dayton Arena and all semifinals will be held at the venue or other locations in the Dayton area, according to Tuesday’s OHSAA Administrator Update.

This past March, it was just the girls and boys basketball state finals played at UD Arena. The state semifinals were played at neutral locations. This past season was the first time time that girls and boys basketball went to seven divisions in each sport.

The starting date for regular season basketball contests will remain the same as previously published for the 2025-26 season, so eliminating an extra week for the state semifinals means schools will have an extra week to schedule regular season games prior to the start of OHSAA tournaments.

In 2026-27, the start of the regular season will be a week later, so that extra week will no longer be available.

For this upcoming season, the girls basketball state tournament is scheduled for March 12-14, 2026. The boys basketball state tournament is scheduled for March 19-21 or March 22.

The next change in an OHSAA state championship format could be coming soon…after a recent meeting between OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute and Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R., Napoleon) a football playoff structure survey was sent out to member schools . Main concerns are the current 16 qualifiers per region.