BLOOMINGTON - The Illinois High School Association's state boys basketball finals may have played in Peoria for 25 years, but decided that home was where the heart was.
The IHSA announced Monday that the finals would be returning to the University of Illinois' State Farm Center, formerly known as Assembly Hall, in Champaign-Urbana for a three-year stint beginning in 2021. The university had been host to the finals from 1919 to 1995 before the organization moved the finals to the Peoria Civic Center/Carver Arena in 1996, where it's been played every year with the exception of this past spring, when the IHSA cancelled the remainder of the series at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"We see this as a passing of the torch from Peoria to Champaign-Urbana," IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said in a news release. "It is bittersweet because there is incredible passion for high school basketball within these two communities, and both have done so much to elevate the state final experience as hosts. The State Farm Center is one of the best arenas in the country, and we are excited to crown state champions there once again. The timing simply felt right to make a change, as the tournament format shifts in 2021."
That new format will stretch all four state finals over three days, with the Class 1A and 2A semifinals being played on Thursday afternoon and evening, the Class 3A and 4A semifinals on Friday afternoon and evening, and all four third-place and championship games being played on Saturday.
The bid for the state finals in Champaign was a joint venture of the University and its athletic department, the arena management, Visit Champaign County and the communities themselves. The arena underwent a $170 million renovation that was completed in 2016 and turned it into a state-of-the-art arena. During the finals, an interactive fan area and a special area for parents with children will be available, and 13 local hotels have agreed to lock in special room rates below rack rates for fans attending the tournament.
In the release, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman expressed his enthusiasm and excitement that the IHSA basketball finals would be returning to its long-time home area.
"We are thrilled with today's news that the Illinois boys basketball finals will return home to the campus of the University of Illinois," Whitman said. "We are grateful to the IHSA and its leadership for choosing State Farm Center and Champaign-Urbana to host the state finals. We are humbled by their confidence in our community, which I know will come together to provide the players, families and fans of the state's best teams a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Whitman also thanked the people and organizations involved in bringing back the finals to the campus, and recognized the relationship between the university and the IHSA.
"The relationship between the IHSA and the University of Illinois extends back more than 100 years, and we are excited to continue this long-standing, positive partnership into the future," Whitman said.
Anderson thanked the city of Peoria for its contributions to the tournament's tradition, and expressed gratitude for all of the innovations that were introduced at Carver Arena.
"It's difficult to express how grateful we are to the city of Peoria, the Civic Center, the surrounding communities and the army of volunteers who have so vigorously supported the state tournament for a quarter of a century in Peoria," Anderson said. "We understand there may be some initial disappointment, but ultimately, we hope they are proud as we are in overseeing one of the most decorated eras in IHSA basketball with class, grace and innovation. We love Peoria and look forward to the numerous IHSA events we will continue to conduct there."
The first IHSA state finals were played in 1908 at the Oak Park YMCA in suburban Chicago, and found a home at the University of Illinois campus in 1919, when the finals were first played at the Men's Gym Annex, now known as Kenney Gym. The finals moved to Huff Gym, now Huff Hall, in 1926 and hosted many memorable moments, which include the 1940 final where Granite City defeated Herrin 24-22 on a last-second basket by Andy Phillip, the 1952 upset by Aldon-Hebron over Quincy in the first-ever final to be televised statewide and go into overtime, along with some of the greatest players and coaches in the history of Illinois high school basketball. The tournament moved to Assembly Hall in 1963 and produced more memorable moments, games, players and coaches until its move to Peoria in 1996.
In other IHSA announcements made of Monday, the girls state basketball finals will continue to be played at Illinois State University's Redbird Arena in Bloomington-Normal for the next three seasons, starting in 2021, approved a recommendation on Stage Two of its Return to Play guidelines to coincide with Phase Four of the Restore Illinois project that is reopening the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and could go into effect in late June or early July,, allow 20 Contact Days and eliminate the no-contact period between Aug. 3-9 in accordance with Stage Two of the Return to Play guidelines, voted to add a girls wrestling state tournament series beginning in 2022, and issued a joint resolution in support of Black Lives Matter.
"Black Lives Matter: The IHSA Board of Directors wholeheartedly believe in this statement," the resolution read, "and vows to work together to better educate ourselves, our students and the IHSA membership on how we can support those impacted by racism and injustice. We will continue to have dialogues on ways we can elevate this message among IHSA students, coaches and officials, while further incorporating Black Lives Matter and equity for all students into the IHSA's mission and belief statements."
