The Illinois High School Boys Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring in the United States. It is organized by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).From 1908 to 1971, it was a single tournament contested by nearly all high schools in Illinois. In 1972, the tournament was divided into two divisions based on school size, (A and AA), each producing a separate champion. In 2008, the tournament was divided into four separate divisions (1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A being the larger schools). The Illinois High School Basketball Championship was the first tournament to be called 'March Madness'. The term was first used about the Illinois tournament in 1939, decades before it was used about NCAA basketball tournament.
Under the current four class system, teams are assigned to a class, based on the student population, with adjustments made for single gender schools, and for schools which are not four year high schools. Within the class, schools are geographically assigned to a regional, which is, in turn assigned to a sectional which, finally, is assigned to a super-sectional. Regional tournaments are generally between four and eight teams, depending on the number of teams in a geographic area in a particular class. There are four regional tournaments within each sectional and two sectionals within each super-sectional. Each tournament is single elimination.
Within the regional, coaches seed the teams. The winners of the four regional tournaments then meet in a single elimination sectional tournament. The teams are not re-seeded after regional play, and the winners of the regional tournament are randomly assigned, in advance, to play the winner of one of the other regionals in the sectional semifinals.
For example, in 2011, in the Class 2A Casey Sectional, there were four regionals: Flora, Monticello, St. Joseph and Robinson. Three of these regionals consisted of five teams and one of six. Before the playoffs began, the IHSA assigned the winner of the Flora Regional (which ended up being Teutopolis) to play the winner of the Monticello Regional (Champaign St. Thomas). The winners of the St. Joseph and Robinson regionals played in the other regional semifinal, with the winners of the two semifinals met in the sectional championship.[1]
The winner of the sectional tournament then faces the winner of another (geographically close) sectional champion for the super-sectional championship. This winner advances to the state tournament.
The state tournament in each class is composed of the four super-sectional winners, and are randomly assigned to play each other in the semifinal round. The winners of the semifinal round compete for the state championship the next evening, while the semifinal losers compete for third place the next day. The state semifinals are generally held on a Friday, with the championship and third place games held on Saturday. Classes 1A and 2A share the same weekend, while 3A and 4A compete the weekend after that.
Under the current four class system, each class has four super sectional games, and thus 8 sectionals. Each sectional has four regionals, giving each class 32 regional tournaments.[2]
The format in the two class system (1972–2007) was similar. In the two class system, each class had 8 super-sectional games, and thus 16 sectionals and 64 regionals. The winners of the 8 super-sectional games advanced to the state tournament. On the Friday of the state tournament, the 8 winners were randomly assigned to play each other in a quarterfinal game. The winners advanced to the semifinals, which were played on the next day. The semifinal losers played for third place in the early evening, while the semifinal winners contested the state championship in the evening. Class A would play one weekend, and Class AA the next weekend.
Prior to 1972, when there was only one tournament for all schools to compete in, there were a variety of formats in use.
The IHSA Girls Basketball tournament is organized in exactly the same way as the boys' tournament; however, the girls' tournament begins two weeks before the boys' tournament.
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1908–1920 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner-Loser (score)[3] | Notes | |
| 1907-08 | Peoria HS def. Rock Island HS (48-29) | ||
| 1908-09 | Hinsdale Twp. def. Washington HS (18-13) | ||
| 1909-10 | Bloomington HS def Rock Island HS (32-25) | ||
| 1910-11 | Rockford HS def. Mt. Carroll HS (60-15) | 45 point margin of victory remains the title game record as of 2009[4] | |
| 1911-12 | Batavia HS def. Galesburg HS (28-25) | ||
| 1912-13 | Galesburg HS def. Manual HS (37-36) | ||
| 1913-14 | Hillsboro HS def. Freeport HS (42-19) | ||
| 1914-15 | Freeport HS def. Springfield HS (27-11) | ||
| 1915-16 | Bloomington HS def. Robinson HS (25-17) | ||
| 1916-17 | Springfield HS def. Belvidere HS (32-11) | ||
| 1917-18 | Centralia HS def. University HS (Normal) (35-29) | ||
| 1918-19 | Rockford HS def. Springfield HS (39-20) | ||
| 1919-20 | Mt. Vernon HS def. Canton HS (18-14) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1921–1940 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner-Loser (score) | Notes | |
| 1920-21 | Marion HS def. Rockford HS (24-23) | ||
| 1921-22 | Centralia HS def. Atwood HS (24-16) | ||
| 1922-23 | Villa Grove HS def. Rockford HS (32-29) | ||
| 1923-24 | Elgin HS def. Athens HS (28-17) | H.V. Porter was the coach of the Athens team. He would later go to work for the IHSA, and compose the poem March Madness.[5] | |
| 1924-25 | Elgin HS def. Champaign HS (25-17) | ||
| 1925-26 | Freeport HS def. Canton HS (24-13) | ||
| 1926-27 | Mt. Carmel HS def. Peoria HS (24-18) | ||
| 1927-28 | Canton HS def. Aurora West HS (18-9) | ||
| 1928-29 | Johnston City HS def. Champaign HS (30-21) | ||
| 1929-30 | Manual HS def. Bloomington HS (38-25) | ||
| 1930-31 | Decatur HS def. Galesburg HS (30-26) | ||
| 1931-32 | Morton HS def. Canton HS (30-16) | ||
| 1932-33 | Thornton HS def. Springfield HS (14-13) | ||
| 1933-34 | Quincy HS def. Thornton HS (39-27) | ||
| 1934-35 | Springfield HS def. Thornton HS (24-19) | Lou Boudreau leads Thornton to their third consecutive state final, and makes his third All-Tournament team.[6] [7] [8] | |
| 1935-36 | Decatur HS def. Danville HS (26-22) | ||
| 1936-37 | Joliet Twp. def. Decatur HS (40-20) | ||
| 1937-38 | Dundee HS def. Reed-Custer HS (36-29) | ||
| 1938-39 | Rockford HS def. Paris HS (53-44) | ||
| 1939-40 | Granite City HS def. Herrin HS (24-22) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1941–1960 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner-Loser (score)[9] | Notes | |
| 1940-41 | Morton HS def. Urbana HS (32-31) | ||
| 1941-42 | Centralia HS def. Paris HS (35-33) | ||
| 1942-43 | Paris HS def. Moline HS (46-37) | ||
| 1943-44 | Taylorville HS def. Elgin HS (56-33) | ||
| 1944-45 | Decatur HS def. Champaign HS (62-54) | ||
| 1945-46 | Champaign HS def. Centralia HS (54-48) | ||
| 1946-47 | Paris HS def. Champaign HS (58-37) | ||
| 1947-48 | Pinckneyville HS def. Rockford East HS (65-39) | ||
| 1948-49 | Mt. Vernon HS def. Hillsboro HS (45-39) | ||
| 1949-50 | Mt. Vernon HS def. Danville HS (85-61) | ||
| 1950-51 | Freeport HS def. Moline HS (71-51) | ||
| 1951-52 | Alden-Hebron HS def. Quincy HS (64-59) | Overtime. With a student population of 98, Alden-Hebron was the smallest school to win the state title in the one-class era.[10] | |
| 1952-53 | Lyons Twp. HS def. Peoria HS (72-60) | ||
| 1953-54 | Mt. Vernon HS def. DuSable HS (76-70) | DuSable is the first Chicago school to reach the finals. | |
| 1954-55 | Rockford West HS def. Elgin HS (61-59) | ||
| 1955-56 | Rockford West HS def. Edwardsville HS (67-65) | ||
| 1956-57 | Herrin HS def. Collinsville HS (45-42) | ||
| 1957-58 | Marshall HS (Chicago) def. Rock Falls HS (70-64) | Marshall is the first champion from Chicago. | |
| 1958-59 | Springfield HS def. Aurora West HS (60-52) | ||
| 1959-60 | Marshall HS (Chicago) def. Bridgeport HS (79-55) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1961–1971 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Winner-Loser (score)[11] | Notes | |
| 1960-61 | Collinsville HS def. Thornton HS (84-50) | ||
| 1961-62 | Stephen Decatur HS def. Carver HS (49-48) | ||
| 1962-63 | Carver HS def. Centralia HS (53-52) | ||
| 1963-64 | Pekin HS def. Cobden HS (50-45) | ||
| 1964-65 | Collinsville HS def. Quincy HS (55-52) | ||
| 1965-66 | Thornton HS def. Galesburg HS (74-60) | ||
| 1966-67 | Pekin HS def. Carbondale HS (75-59) | ||
| 1967-68 | Evanston Twp. HS def. Galesburg HS (70-51) | ||
| 1968-69 | Proviso East HS def. Spalding HS (Peoria) (58-51) | ||
| 1969-70 | Lyons Twp. HS def. United Township HS (East Moline) (71-52) | ||
| 1970-71 | Thornridge HS def. Oak Lawn Community HS (52-50) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1972–1981 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Winner-Loser (score) | Notes | |
| 1971-72 | A | Lawrenceville HS def. Meridian HS (Mounds) (63-57) | ||
| AA | Thornridge HS def. Quincy HS (104-69) | |||
| 1972-73 | A | Ridgway HS def. Kaneland HS (54-51) | ||
| AA | Hirsch HS (Chicago) def. New Trier East HS (65-51) | |||
| 1973-74 | A | Lawrenceville HS def. Marquette HS (Ottawa) (54-53) | ||
| AA | Proviso East HS def. Bloom Twp. HS (61-56) | |||
| 1974-75 | A | Venice HS def. Timothy Christian HS (65-46) | ||
| AA | Phillips HS (Chicago) def. Bloom Twp. HS (76-48) | |||
| 1975-76 | A | Mt. Pulaski HS def. ROVA HS (59-58) | ||
| AA | Morgan Park HS (Chicago) def. Aurora West HS (45-44) | |||
| 1976-77 | A | Madison HS def. Aurora Central Catholic HS (71-55) | ||
| AA | Peoria HS def. Lanphier HS (72-62) | |||
| 1977-78 | A | Nashville HS def. Havana HS (54-38) | ||
| AA | Lockport Central HS def. St. Joseph HS (64-47) | Isiah Thomas of St. Joseph was the tournament's leading scorer, but Lockport Central completed an undefeated season.[12] | ||
| 1978-79 | A | Providence Catholic HS def. Havana HS (46-33) | ||
| AA | Maine South HS def. Quincy HS (83-67) | |||
| 1979-80 | A | Luther South HS def. Bergan HS (56-51) | ||
| AA | Manley HS (Chicago) def. Effingham HS (69-61) | |||
| 1980-81 | A | Madison HS def. Dunlap HS (58-47) | ||
| AA | Quincy HS def. Proviso East HS (68-39) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1982–1991 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Winner-Loser (score)[13] | Notes | |
| 1981-82 | A | Lawrenceville HS def. Monmouth HS (67-53) | ||
| AA | Lincoln HS (East St. Louis) def. Mendel HS (56-50) | |||
| 1982-83 | A | Lawrenceville HS def. Flanagan HS (44-39) | As of 2009, this was the only final to feature two undefeated teams.[14] | |
| AA | Lanphier HS def. Peoria HS (57-53) | |||
| 1983-84 | A | McLeansboro HS def. Mt. Pulaski HS (57-50) | ||
| AA | Simeon HS (Chicago) def. Evanston Twp. HS (53-47) | |||
| 1984-85 | A | Providence St. Mel HS def. Chrisman HS (95-63) | ||
| AA | Mt. Carmel HS (Chicago) def. Lanphier HS (46-44) | Double overtime | ||
| 1985-86 | A | Teutopolis HS def. Ohio HS (82-45) | The Teutopolis Lady Shoes also won the girls title in 1986, and Teutopolis became the first Illinois school to win boys and girls titles in the same year.[15] | |
| AA | King HS def. Rich Central HS (47-40) | |||
| 1986-87 | A | Venice HS def. Okawville HS (56-54) | ||
| AA | Lincoln HS (East St. Louis) def. King HS (79-62) | |||
| 1987-88 | A | Pana HS def. Pinckneyville HS (62-58) | ||
| AA | Lincoln HS (East St. Louis) def. St. Francis de Sales HS (Chicago) (60-52) | |||
| 1988-89 | A | Carlyle HS def. Alleman HS (Rock Island) (65-56) | ||
| AA | Lincoln HS (East St. Louis) def. Peoria HS (59-57) | Triple overtime | ||
| 1989-90 | A | Wesclin HS (Trenton) def. Prairie Central HS (Fairbury) (83-78) | Double overtime | |
| AA | King HS def. Gordon Tech HS (65-55) | First all-Chicago final. | ||
| 1990-91 | A | Pittsfield HS def. Seneca HS (45-35) | ||
| AA | Proviso East HS def. Manual HS (68-61) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 1992–2007 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Winner-Loser (score) | Notes | |
| 1991-92 | A | Findlay HS def. University HS (Normal) (61-45) | Even though Findlay HS was listed with a student population of 98 on television, the actual 9-12 enrollment was 75, making Findlay HS the smallest school to ever win the championship. The 98 mentioned was Grades 7-12, which were contained in the same building. | |
| AA | Proviso East HS def. Richwoods HS (42-31) | |||
| 1992-93 | A | Staunton HS def. Hales Franciscan HS (66-62) | ||
| AA | King HS (Chicago) def. Guilford HS (79-42) | |||
| 1993-94 | A | Pinckneyville HS def. Eureka HS (67-65) | ||
| AA | Manual HS def. Carbondale HS (61-60) | |||
| 1994-95 | A | University HS (Normal) def. Aurora Christian HS (56-54) | ||
| AA | Manual HS def. Thornton HS (65-53) | |||
| 1995-96 | A | Shelbyville HS def. Mater Dei HS (58-45) | ||
| AA | Manual HS def. Thornton HS (57-51) | |||
| 1996-97 | A | Warsaw HS def. Hall HS (92-85) | Overtime | |
| AA | Manual HS def. Aurora West HS (47-43) | Final of 4 consecutive titles by Manual | ||
| 1997-98 | A | Nauvoo-Colusa HS def. Hall HS (45-39) | ||
| AA | Whitney Young HS def. Galesburg HS (61-56) | |||
| 1998-99 | A | Rock Falls HS def. Gibault Catholic HS (45-43) | ||
| AA | St. Joseph HS def. Warren Twp. HS (61-51) | |||
| 1999–2000 | A | Pleasant Plains HS def. Teutopolis HS (56-43) | ||
| AA | West Aurora HS def. Westinghouse HS (60-57) | |||
| 2000-01 | A | Pinckneyville HS def. Pana HS (77-50) | ||
| AA | Schaumburg HS def. Thornwood HS (66-54) | Eddy Curry of Thornwood was the leading scorer for the tournament, but unranked Schaumburg scored a major upset over the #1 AP ranked team.[16] | ||
| 2001-02 | A | Pleasant Plains HS def. Herrin HS (50-47) | Overtime | |
| AA | Westinghouse HS def. Lanphier HS (76-72) | |||
| 2002-03 | A | Hales Franciscan HS def. Mt. Carroll HS (58-53) | ||
| AA | Peoria HS def. Thornwood HS (45-43) | |||
| 2003-04 | A | Leo Catholic HS def. Winnebago HS (65-57) | ||
| AA | Peoria HS def. Homewood-Flossmoor HS (53-47) | |||
| 2004-05 | A | Hales Franciscan HS def. Winnebago HS (78-62) | Hales Franciscan forfeited its state title. | |
| AA | Glenbrook North HS def. Carbondale HS (63-51) | Jon Scheyer scores 134 points in the four game tournament, more than double the second leading scorer, leading GBN to the title.[17] | ||
| 2005-06 | A | Seneca HS def. Illinois Valley Central HS (47-44) | ||
| AA | Simeon Academy def. Richwoods HS (31-29) | Overtime; junior Derrick Rose scored the game winning points. | ||
| 2006-07 | A | Maroa-Forsyth HS def. North Lawndale Charter School (59-56) | ||
| AA | Simeon Academy def. O'Fallon Twp. HS (77-54) |
| IHSA Boys Basketball Champions 2008–2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Winner-Loser (score) | Notes | |
| 2007-08 | 1A | St. Anne HS def. Nokomis HS (67-61) | ||
| 2A | North Lawndale Charter School def. Manual HS (56-42) | |||
| 3A | Marshall HS (Chicago) def. Simeon Academy (69-61) | First all-Chicago Public League final. | ||
| 4A | Richards HS (Oak Lawn) def. Zion-Benton Twp. HS (67-63) | |||
| 2008-09 | 1A | Meridian HS (Macon) def. Woodlawn HS (63-53) | ||
| 2A | Seton Academy def. Massac County HS (83-63) | |||
| 3A | Centennial HS def. Oswego HS (61-59) | |||
| 4A | Whitney Young HS def. Waukegan HS (69-66) | |||
| 2009-10 | 1A | Salt Fork Coop (Catlin/Jamaica, Illinois) def. Sesser-Valier HS (55-42) | ||
| 2A | Robinson def. Manual HS (76-68)(OT) | |||
| 3A | Hillcrest def. Richwoods (58-55) | |||
| 4A | Simeon def. Whitney Young (51-36) | |||
| 2010-11 | 1A | Newark def. Winchester/West Central (57-35) | ||
| 2A | Hales Franciscan High School def. Murphysboro HS (61-47) | |||
| 3A | Rock Island HS def. Centralia HS (50-40) (2 OT) | |||
| 4A | Simeon def. Gurnee Warren HS (48-39) | |||
| 2011-12 | 1A | Woodlawn def. Carrollton (48-45) | ||
| 2A | Breese Central def. Normal University (53-47) | |||
| 3A | Peoria High School (Peoria, Illinois) def. North Chicago (72-64) | |||
| 4A | Simeon def. Proviso East (50-48) | |||
| 2012-13 | 1A | Mason City (Illini Central) def. Madison (55-44) | ||
| 2A | Harrisburg def. South Holland (Seton Academy) (50-44) | |||
| 3A | Chicago (Morgan Park) def. Cahokia (63-48) | |||
| 4A | Simeon def. Stevenson (58-40) | |||
| 2013-14 | 1A | Mooseheart def. Heyworth (63-47) | ||
| 2A | Central Catholic def. Nashville (76-62) | |||
| 3A | Chicago (Morgan Park) def. Lincoln (59-49) | |||
| 4A | Whitney Young def. Benet Academy (46-44) | |||
| 2014-15 | 1A | Brimfield def. Meridian (56-52) | ||
| 2A | Uplift def. St. Teresa (53-47) | |||
| 3A | St. Joseph def. Althoff Catholic High School (67-63) | |||
| 4A | Stevenson def. Normal Community High School (57-40) | |||
| 2015-2016 | 1A | Le Roy def. Leo Catholic (38-35) | ||
| 2A | St. Joseph def. Rockridge (61-43) | |||
| 3A | Althoff Catholic High School def. Lincoln-Way West (62-37) | |||
| 4A | Curie def. Benet Academy (65-59) | " |
The tournament was originally organized only with the permission of the IHSA, but after one year was taken over by the Association. The tournament spent 77 years playing at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) before moving to Bradley University's Carver Arena in Peoria from 1996-2019.[18] The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on June 15, 2020, the IHSA announced the tournament would move back to UIUC's State Farm Center.[19] [20]
In 1992, the IHSA added a three-point contest and a slam dunk contest (collectively called "The Happening") to coincide with the boys basketball state series. The state level of each contest is held on the Thursday evening before their respective class' state semifinals (quarterfinals before 2008), with each class crowning a champion in each contest on the Saturday of their state championship game. After the Class 3A and 4A champions have been determined, there is a final "King of the Hill" contest among the four class champion to crown the overall champion.
The slam dunk contest has no preliminaries prior to the Thursday competition of the week of the state finals. Players are nominated by the coaches of their regional or sectional tournament. Those willing to participate advance automatically to the state preliminaries.[21]
The three point contest starts at the beginning of the regional tournaments. Each team may select up to 4 players to compete, with a total of four players advancing to the next level of competition. As teams advance through regional and sectional, the winning individuals advance, irrespective of their team's success.[21]
Since 1996, in addition to the on court activities, the IHSA has set up an interactive event at the Peoria Civic Center called the March Madness Experience. Set up in the 100000square feet Exhibit Hall, the "Experience" includes interactive games and skill challenges for fans to participate in. Big screen televisions allow fans to watch the current game being played on the court, and radio and television broadcasts originate from the floor. The "Experience" opens on the Thursday of each week of the State Championship Tournament, and remains open throughout the tournament.[22]
Starting in 2004, the first weekend of the State Championship Tournament also hosts the state high school championship for wheelchair basketball. The tournament is a round robin tournament, and is composed of teams of high school students, though the teams are not necessarily affiliated with a particular school.[23] [24]
The IHSA celebrated 100 years of the IHSA State Tournament in the 2006-07 season. A list of "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament" was assembled. Several of the living members of that team made appearances at select games across the state, and signed a "Ball of Fame" which was subsequently raffled off at the state tournament.[25] Commemorative books and videos were available. Among the notable members of the "Legends" team were Kenny Battle, Lou Boudreau, Jim Brewer, Quinn Buckner, Landon "Sonny" Cox, Bruce Douglas, Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, LaPhonso Ellis, Melvin Ely, Michael Finley, C. J. Kupec, Marcus Liberty, Shaun Livingston, Cuonzo Martin, Johnny Orr, Andy Phillip, Quentin Richardson, Dave Robisch, Cazzie Russell, Jon Scheyer, Jack Sikma, Isiah Thomas, Frank Williams, and George Wilson.[26]
The 2005 Class A state title resulted in the only forfeiture of a state boys basketball title in Illinois history. The title game resulted in a victory for Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School over Winnebago. It was the second year in a row Winnebago had lost in the final game, and was the second time in three years that Hales Franciscan had won.
Hales Franciscan's basketball team had been at the center of problems for over a year. In 2004, the school had been kicked out of the IHSA state series when recruiting violations had been uncovered.[27]
In November, 2005, the IHSA announced that it was suspending Hales Franciscan's membership in the Association, when it was learned that the school's Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recognition had been lapsed in June, 2003.[28] [29]
In January, 2006, the IHSA announced that due to the lack of recognition (ISBE), Hales Franciscan would forfeit all athletic contests played between June, 2003 and December, 2005, including its 2005 State Championship.[30]
Also see John Pruett (Illinois High School Career Field Goal Percentage Champion)