7/31/12 – Boys’ Sweet 16® Championship Game Set for Sunday

For the first time in the 95-year history of the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16®, the tournament championship game will be played sometime other than Saturday night.

The traditional state tournament format will undergo a transformation for the 2013 event due to potential scheduling conflicts with Rupp Arena.

“We received a request a few days ago from the University to consider other Saturday (and potentially Sunday) alternatives in the event that the final schedule for 2012-2013 necessitated the Wildcats playing at home on Saturday, March 9,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “The 2013 scheduling has been a constantly evolving challenge for a while as we had previously surrendered our contracted dates for the arena to allow UK to host the NCAA Second/Third round that year.”

The semifinals, a doubleheader that has been played on Saturday morning for more than fifty years, will move to Saturday night while the championship will be played at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The opening and quarterfinal rounds will remain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as in previous years. Exact tip-off times for the semifinals have not been confirmed and will be announced at a later date.

The decision was made on the part of the Association to eliminate the potential scheduling conflict with the University of Kentucky men’s basketball program on Saturday, March 9 and measure affects the 2013 tournament only.

“It is important that the two largest and most tradition rich clients sharing the arena work together on a solution when there comes that time that we both need the facility,” Tackett noted.

“They say that necessity is the mother of invention,” Tackett continued. “While we all like to be reverent to tradition it’s not a bad idea to try something new and we have certainly been willing to do that in the last few years. The format of our tournament, particularly Saturday, has been a discussion topic for years with coaches, fans and media. Circumstances have created both a need and an opportunity for us to try something different for one year and we will see what happens with it. The worst that can happen is we go back to the formula we know has worked for most of our 94 years.”


Boys’ Sweet Sixteen finals to be on Sunday Fields Notes

Wow!

I ain't mad. I like it better already. I hope they keep it that way.

I like the Commish's take on it. Open-minded, objective, and in touch with reality.

» Boys’ Sweet Sixteen finals to be on Sunday Fields Notes

I'm glad.

It couldn't hurt.

Don't see this as any big deal. I will just stay over on saturday and take in the championship game on Sunday.

No big deal. I think it will be better this way.

The Hotels and Restaurants in and around Lexington are going to love it, that's for sure!

This is really the way it should have been for years. Gives both the early game and the late game semi-finals winners the same amount of rest time and I believe the Semi-finals crowds in the evening on Saturday will pack Rupp!

I love it, plus it keeps a team that might have had a super tough game at 11:30 playing a team that might not have been quite as good, but had an easy game at 10:00 from getting upset because of a little extra fatigue. I think the crowds will be fantastic too!

Originally Posted by thegame523

I love it, plus it keeps a team that might have had a super tough game at 11:30 playing a team that might not have been quite as good, but had an easy game at 10:00 from getting upset because of a little extra fatigue. I think the crowds will be fantastic too!

Agree 100%. I hope they keep it this way.

At first take this is something many have wanted and feel is better.



BUT if UK plays Saturday night, the 2 downtown hotels are going to jack prices up even more and the KABC discount is probably gone as well.

Does anyone know why the tournament is 1 week earlier when the NCAA 2nd and 3rd rounds are 2 weekends later (21-24)? Is it to avoid conflict with the SEC Tournament?

Originally Posted by Mack The Knife

Does anyone know why the tournament is 1 week earlier when the NCAA 2nd and 3rd rounds are 2 weekends later (21-24)? Is it to avoid conflict with the SEC Tournament?

Don't the girls and boys rotate?

Originally Posted by mcraycraft

Don't the girls and boys rotate?

I assume they do next year, but the reason was to avoid conflct with NCAA Tournament, I thought. But they are now 2 weeks apart.

I like it and think it will add buzz to the Saturday games by creating a better defined final four. It also will allow the two finalists to have time to get more fans there for the championship game. I like the marketing potential of having a true final four with time for anticipation to build.

Originally Posted by Theoldguy

The Hotels and Restaurants in and around Lexington are going to love it, that's for sure!

This is really the way it should have been for years. Gives both the early game and the late game semi-finals winners the same amount of rest time and I believe the Semi-finals crowds in the evening on Saturday will pack Rupp!

Great point, the Lexington tourism folks have to love this. And because the semi's will be in the evening, folks are going to be stuck with their hotel room, so maybe it will help the finals crowd as well. Check out, go see the game. In the past for many it was check out on Saturday morning, go watch the semis, head home.

Originally Posted by CBDV

At first take this is something many have wanted and feel is better.



BUT if UK plays Saturday night, the 2 downtown hotels are going to jack prices up even more and the KABC discount is probably gone as well.

Excellent point. It will be very interesting to see how the area hotels handle this with UK playing. A lot of coaches stay in the downtown hotels during the Sweet 16, will the school districts ante up if the hotels jack up prices on Saturday?

Originally Posted by boonesp

I like it and think it will add buzz to the Saturday games by creating a better defined final four. It also will allow the two finalists to have time to get more fans there for the championship game. I like the marketing potential of having a true final four with time for anticipation to build.

The only way this turns out bad is if both Louisville regions, the 11th rep, and a western Ky. rep make the final four. Then attendance could get pretty dicey even for the semis.

I agree it has great potential, and the marketing possibilities abound. It could be a huge money maker for Lexington business', inject even more money in the KHSAA's Sweet 16 coffers, and even give a shot of adrenaline to the event itself. We'll see.

^

I don't know. You'd have to do some incredible damage to me to keep me from witnessing Ballard and Bullitt East in the Final Four. Add in Henry Clay or Madison Central from the 11th and I'll be disappointed if Rupp isn't packed. Those four teams will be must see basketball this season.

The more I read about this, the more I like this idea. Overall, I think this will be a HUGE success for the tournament and Lexington!