TAPPS State Basketball Championships

San Antonio. The UIL public-school state tournament for boys and girls, all classifications 1A through 6A, played at the Alamodome in March. Earn your way through district and regional brackets to get here.

Houston-area Pasadena ISD hosts what's been billed as Texas's largest pre-Thanksgiving high school tournament. Played the Thursday-Friday-Saturday before Thanksgiving across multiple Pasadena ISD gyms, with a free YouTube stream.

Lubbock. About 96 teams across nine gyms in four ISDs over three days at year-end. Run by Lubbock Caprock AMBUCS, with proceeds funding adaptive AmTrykes for people with disabilities. Every team gets at least four games, no entry fee.

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.

Nevada's largest classification (5A) is functionally Bishop Gorman versus the rest of Las Vegas. Gorman beat Mojave 71-59 for the 2025 title. Lower classifications — 4A through 1A — play their finals separately. Title weekend rotates between Las Vegas-area venues.