BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT TO REMAIN IN MADISON; GIRLS TO GREEN BAY IN 2013 & 2014
Board Supports Executive Staff Recommendations on State Tournament Sites for 2012 Summer Baseball and Girls Golf
STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control authorized the Executive Staff to pursue agreements to keep the State Boys Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison and to move the State Girls Basketball Tournament to the Resch Center in Green Bay for 2013 and 2014 at its April meeting today.
The Board approved a recommendation by Executive Director Dave Anderson to move the Girls State Basketball Tournament to the Resch Center in Green Bay, pending the successful negotiation of formal agreement with PMI and the Resch Center to host the premiere girls basketball event in 2013 and 2014. In addition, the recommendation seeks an extension to the contract for the Boys State Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison, along with the State Football Championships, State Individual and Team Wrestling Championships, Girls & Boys Golf Championships, and the State Softball Championships through 2020, pending the successful negotiation of a formal agreement for these tournaments with the University of Wisconsin.
No determination will be made on the location of the girls tournament beyond 2014 until the opportunity to experience the tournament at the Resch Center can be evaluated.
The recommendation will require the 2013 and 2014 State Boys Basketball Tournament to be played on the second weekend in March followed by the girls tournament on the third weekend. This will allow the tournaments to return to the preferred weekends with an adjustment in the order of the tournaments to accommodate open weekends at the Kohl Center.
The change in venue and schedule is necessary because of scheduling conflicts with the University of Wisconsin athletics schedule for 2013 and 2014. The traditional weekend of the Boys State Basketball Tournament in the Kohl Center has been reserved for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs in 2013. In addition, the third weekend in March is expected to be reserved in 2014 for the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four.
“We carefully considered all the options and perspectives that go into making a determination that impact these events, because these events produce revenue that provide the opportunity to conduct high school tournaments for all our sponsored sports,” Anderson said.
The Kohl Center has been home to the boys tournament since it opened in 1998 with a seating capacity of 17,230. The girls tournament has been held in the Kohl Center the past three seasons and in 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2005. The UW Fieldhouse (2002) and Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center (2004, 2006-09) have also hosted the girls tournament over the past decade.
“We wish to extend our gratitude to the UW chancellor’s office and Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez and the athletics staff, and the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau for their efforts in accommodating our State Basketball Tournaments,” Anderson said. “The Kohl Center will continue to provide the conveniences and attributes necessary for our boys tournament along with the necessary seating capacity to accommodate the 80,000 to 90,000 fan base that typically enjoy this premiere state tournament.
“We are equally excited about the opportunity to work with PMI and the Green Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau,” he said. “The Resch Center is a state-of-the-art facility that will afford our girls basketball tournament the modern conveniences and attributes necessary to provide a premium quality, family friendly experience to players, coaches and fans.”
The Resch Center, opened in 2002, has been the host venue for the WIAA State Girls Volleyball Tournament since 2002. With a seating capacity of 9,343 for basketball, the Resch Center is the home of the UW-Green Bay men’s basketball games. In 2004, the Resch Center was named Tour Guide Magazine's Best New Venue in 2004. It was also ranked by Pollstar as one of the top 100 buildings in the world and has hosted NCAA tournaments, most recently the NCAA Men’s Hockey Regional this winter.
In other Board action, it also authorized the anticipated move of the State Summer Baseball Tournament to Concordia College in Mequon this summer. The new format features a one-day tournament with semifinal games followed by the championship final Friday, July 20. The tournament has been held at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point since 1989 when it moved from West Bend, which was the initial location of the tournament from 1965-1988.
In addition, the State Girls Golf Championships in 2012 will be played at Cherokee Country Club in Madison if renovations to the course at University Ridge, the location of the meet since 1994, have not been completed.
The Board also voted to approve the appointments to the Official Advisory Committee, a state association adaptation to the NFHS rules regarding advertising and commercial markings on football fields and a new commercial venture with the WIAA’s awards supplier ESCO.
Among the other topics discussed was the agenda for the 2012 Annual Meeting, the recently passed legislation regarding concussions and online ticketing for spring State tournaments.
The membership of the WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 506 senior high schools and 71 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It will sponsor 25 championship tournament series in 2011-12. For more information, please contact the WIAA office at (715) 344-8580.
Todd C. Clark
Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
Director of Communications & Advanced Media
5516 Vern Holmes Dr.
Stevens Point, WI 54482
(715) 344-8580
(715) 344-4241 (fax)
tclark@wiaawi.org
www.wiaawi.org
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