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Summary
Rochester-area public-school sectional finals run on one floor over two days. Section V is one of NYSPHSAA's deepest pools in Class AAA and the AA splits — Rush-Henrietta, Fairport, Penfield and Webster Thomas are regulars. Winners advance to the NYSPHSAA state tournament.
What makes this tournament distinct
Blue Cross Arena double-header format gets all 10 class titles played at the same venue, not split across multiple gyms.
Who it fits
Best for: Section V Greater Rochester public-school programs.
Tradeoffs: Must qualify through league play. Long day if you sit through all 10 finals.
Catholic-school championship covering NYC, Long Island, Westchester and Buffalo dioceses. Stepinac and St. Raymond have owned recent finals; the 2025 game went to overtime. Realistically the highest level of New York high school basketball year over year — CHSAA-AA programs routinely beat PSAL champions in the annual Challenge.
After 38 straight years in Glens Falls, NYSPHSAA moved this to Binghamton starting 2025 on a contract through 2027. Six classes (AAA down to D) crown a champion across one weekend. Public-school only — the CHSAA, PSAL and NYSAISAA winners do not cross over since the Federation Tournament of Champions went on indefinite hiatus after 2024.
NYC public-school championship run by the Public Schools Athletic League. Borough playoffs feed into a city championship game played at a major NYC venue (historically Madison Square Garden, more recently rotating).
Alaska Airlines Center on the UAA campus. Two weekends — 1A/2A first (March 11-14), then 3A/4A (March 18-21). NFHS Network livestreams every game. Branded as ASAA March Madness, hosted by ASAA and Anchorage School District.
Hot Springs. Arkansas Activities Association state finals, classes 1A through 6A boys and girls, all played at Bank OZK Arena over three days in mid-March. Free live streaming through Arkansas TV makes this one of the easiest state finals in the region to follow.
Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, two-day final weekend. The Open Division boys final is the most loaded state title game in the country most years — you have to win your CIF section first, and the Open bracket pulls eight teams from those section champs. Eastvale Roosevelt won the 2025 Open over Archbishop Riordan; Brayden Burries dropped 44 in the final.
Denver. Colorado state finals for both boys and girls, classes 1A through 6A. Great 8 round opens the week, all six championship games run on the final Saturday at Denver Coliseum. Every game streams on NFHS Network.
CIAC moved finals to Mohegan Sun Arena and runs both boys and girls D-I through D-IV champion games over a single weekend. Public + private all together (CT doesn't separate them). Ellington won D-IV 2025 — their first state title in 53 years. Greenwich girls took D-I.
The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association crowns boys, girls, and unified basketball champions each March. The 2025 boys final saw No. 6 Sanford School upset No. 1 Dover 37-34 — typical of a small-state bracket where seeding doesn't carry as much weight as program continuity.
National Prep Tournament in Fort Walton Beach, Florida takes both high school and post-grad programs. Applications stay open through October 31. If you want a competitive early-March slot without invitation-only barriers, this is the one to apply for.