UIL

State Basketball Championships

The time has come once again to crown the best high school basketball teams in the state. The 2008 UIL Girls and Boys Basketball State Championships give high school players and teams across the state the chance to compete on the state’s biggest stage and prove they deserve to stand at the pinnacle of Texas high school basketball. The participants of the championships know the hard work and perseverance needed to compete at the highest level and know that two more victories will allow them to be called state champions.

Every year, over 150,000 spectators travel to Austin for the championships and are treated to the very best high school basketball Texas has to offer. Since moving to the Frank Erwin Center in 1977, thousands of athletes have been able to reach the goal of state champion and gain memories that last a lifetime.

Just as players have left their mark, many teams throughout the tournaments’ history have become associated with championship success. Over a six year span from 1977 to 1982, the Nazareth girls took home the championship trophy in Conference 1A and their 22 times in the tournament mark the most of any school in girls and boys. The Snook boys program has competed in the state tournament 19 times and won 10 state championships.

Each three-day tournament is jam-packed with action from 18 games played in six different classifications. Play begins with semi-finals on Thursday and Friday and culminates with state championship trophies handed out on Saturday. The six game-a-day format means that fans have a chance to watch all the action the weekend has to offer or attend games in between visiting some of the many attractions in the Austin area.

The 2009 Girls State Tournament will be held March 5-7 and the Boys Tournament will be held March 12-14. Tournament order forms can be found on the UIL Web site at www.uil.utexas.edu and tickets can be purchased beginning March 10 at Texas Box Office Outlets, by phone at 512-477-6060 or 1-800-982-2386, or online at TexasBoxOffice.com.