High school basketball: UD Arena, Nutter Center shine in OHSAA's return to Final Four experience
Mar. 29—The Ohio High School Athletic Association's boys and girls state basketball tournaments drew more than 97,000 fans to the Miami Valley earlier this month as part of its return to a "Final Four experience. " University of Dayton Arena, Wright State University's Nutter Center and the Vandalia Butler Student Activity Center combined to host 42 state tournament games over a two-week stretch from March 12 to March 22 — with glowing reviews.
"I'm always amazed at how smooth it goes," said OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute. "I'm getting really good reviews back from our schools who participated, and having a lot of good comments from fans. Of course, the best thing is, for the student-athlete, it gives them that Final Four experience.
" UD Arena has hosted tournament games for decades, witnessing countless memorable high school basketball finishes, including Fairmont's comeback win over Princeton in the girls Division I state championship game on March 14. "You witnessed it right there," said Scott DeBolt, Executive Director of UD Arena, after the game. "That's why we host them.
We're a basketball facility that really enjoys serving the community. That's what UD Arena was originally built for. " This year, Wright State got in on the action as well, hosting 18 state semifinal games.
"We had really good crowds," said Joseph Dick, Wright State's associate director of facilities and operations at the Nutter Center. "You never know when you're hosting these kind of tournaments. As I used to say, some schools close the town down, roll up the sidewalks and everybody comes, and then some, you know, just family and friends come.
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