OHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament moving to Dayton in 2021

COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced Tuesday that the 2021 Girls Basketball State Tournament will be played in Dayton.

The tournament will be hosted at the University of Dayton Arena for the next three years, according to the OHSAA.

The tournament has been held at the Ohio State University 44 of the last 45 years. The OHSAA said there was limited availability for the Jerome Schottenstein Center or St. John Arena in March.

Renovated in 2019, UD Arena has a seating capacity of 13,000 and has played host to many OHSAA basketball tournament games, along with Atlantic 10 Conference and NCAA tournament games. During the regular season, it is the home of the very successful University of Dayton Flyers women’s and men’s basketball teams. 

“We are very excited to sign a three-year agreement for our member schools to experience UD Arena,” OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass said. “Southwest Ohio loves and supports basketball and the people at the University of Dayton have made it clear that they really want this state tournament on their campus. We believe that we have found a great home for the girls basketball state tournament.” 

The 2021 OHSAA boys tournament is scheduled to be held at St. John Arena at Ohio State in 2021. No host site is in place for the 2022 boys tournament.