New York State Public High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Championships

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Boys Basketball Championships are held annually to determine the champions of public high schools outside of New York City, though some catholic and independent schools are members as well. The championship games are held each March. After 36 years in Glens Falls at the Glens Falls Civic Center, the championships are held in Binghamton at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.Retrieved April 4, 2016

The winners of the Class AA, A and B tournaments then compete for the state title in a tournament, called the Federation Tournament of Champions, against the champions of the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA), the New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association (NYSAISAA), and the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) (public schools in New York City).New York State Boys Basketball Championships – nybasketball.net. Retrieved February 5, 2010. The Federation Tournament of Champions returned to Glens Falls at the Glens Falls Civic Center beginning in March 2017.

Early history

The earliest high school boys' state championship in New York was held in 1921 as a single-class tournament. The tournament continued as a one-classification competition through 1929, then as a two-classification (A and B) competition from 1930 through 1932. After the 1932 tournament, the NYSPHSAA voted against continuing the competition. According to Alton Doyle, the executive director of the NYSPHSAA from 1975 to 1990, there were many violations of the rules on eligibility, with some schools using overage students, and gambling was widespread. The state tournament was believed to be a cause of such problems, leading to the decision to eliminate the tournament.Jason Molinet, "History of LI Basketball/New York State of Mind/Tourney, dormant for years, has become goal for LI teams", Newsday, March 21, 2002, . Retrieved April 6, 2015.

Regional tournaments continued over the years without any overall state championship. From 1974 through 1977, various inter-sectional, regional and inter-class post-season tournaments were held. In 1976, the state legislature passed a bill to authorize a state tournament, which began in 1978.

Sections and classifications

Winners of each section compete in the NYSPHSAA tournament, by size classification, for the NYSPHSAA state championship. There are 11 sections, as follows:

Section 1: Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester Counties Section 2: Capital District Section 3: Central New York Section 4: Southern Tier Section 5: Genesee Valley Section 6: Western New York Section 7: Champlain Area Section 8: Nassau County Section 9: Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties Section 10: St. Lawrence Area Section 11: Suffolk County

Each section is further divided into classes, by school enrollment size. The classes are, from largest schools to smallest, AA, A, B, C, and D. For 2015, the classification enrollment cutoffs were as follows, counting the number of 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in the previous scholastic year (enrollment is doubled for all-boys schools):

Class AA: 910 and more Class A: 480-909 Class B: 280-479 Class C: 170-279 Class D: 169 and fewer

A school may elect to play in a higher classification, but may not elect to play in a lower classification.

Winners and runners-up

Winners and runners-up of the single-classification tournament from 1921 through 1929 were:

YearVenueWinnerRunner-upW scoreRU score 1921Syracuse UniversityPoughkeepsieSherrill2918 1922Syracuse CentralEast (Rochester)2519 1923Port ChesterMasten Park (Buffalo)1814 1924Lafayette (Buffalo)Lansingburgh2918 1925Patchogue2216 1926Elmira Free AcademyKenmore (Tonawanda)2624 1927Broadway AuditoriumYonkersElmira Free Academy3016 1928TroySyracuse CentralFosdick-Masten Park (Buffalo)3016 1929Syracuse UniversityAlbany2519

Winners and runners-up of the two-classification tournament from 1930 through 1932 were:

YearVenueClassWinnerRunner-UpW ScoreRU ScoreOTs 1930Syracuse UniversityALittle FallsCohoes259BMinevilleMargaretville3828 1931AYonkersOswego3418BCornwallChautauqua3828 1932AYonkersJohnson City34181BSherrillEast Islip3315

Venues of the current, multi-classification tournament:

Year(s)CityArena 1978–1980RochesterRochester Community War Memorial 1981–2016Glens FallsGlens Falls Civic Center 2017–2019; 2022–2023BinghamtonFloyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena2024Glens FallsCool Insuring Arena2025–presentBinghamtonVisions Veterans Memorial Arena

Results of the current, multi-classification tournament, through 2025: