NIAA 5A Boys Basketball State Championship

Las Vegas, mid-December. Massive field — 100+ teams across multiple competitive tiers, played at high schools across the valley. Named for Jerry Tarkanian. The scale is the differentiator: every team gets in if there's a tier that fits.

Birmingham, Alabama — all seven classifications, boys and girls, play semifinals and finals at Legacy Arena at the BJCC over a single week (February 24 through March 1 in 2025). Alabama was the first state to consolidate the championship into one venue this way. Hoover went 35-0 to take its third straight 7A title.

Indiana's girls' state series. Four classes, single-elimination through Sectionals, Regionals, and Semi-States to State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Runs about a week ahead of the boys' bracket each season.

Birmingham, Alabama — all seven classifications, boys and girls, play semifinals and finals at Legacy Arena at the BJCC over a single week (February 24 through March 1 in 2025). Alabama was the first state to consolidate the championship into one venue this way. Hoover went 35-0 to take its third straight 7A title.

Indiana's girls' state series. Four classes, single-elimination through Sectionals, Regionals, and Semi-States to State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Runs about a week ahead of the boys' bracket each season.

Maine's three-venue model: Northern regionals at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Southern regionals at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, then state finals at the Augusta Civic Center. The Augusta Civic Center is part of Maine's basketball identity — 'Tourney Time' is one of the better-attended state tournaments in the country relative to population.

Clinton, Mississippi — the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (formerly MAIS / MPSA) crowns its overall basketball champions at Mississippi College. The 2025 tournament ran February 17-18 and 24-26. Jackson Prep took the boys overall over Jackson Academy 53-51; Parklane Academy beat MRA for the girls title 45-42.

Mississippi public-school state finals at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. Seven classifications played over multiple days — Germantown took 7A boys 69-52 over Madison Central in 2025; Coffeeville won 1A; Booneville and Canton claimed 3A and 5A respectively. Brackets seed off region tournaments.

North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association postseason, with all four boys titles staged at Providence Day in 2025 and the girls split between Providence Day and Charlotte Latin. Caldwell Academy took 2A boys and Rocky Mount Academy 2A girls — a typical NCISAA bracket where small private programs decide titles.