The days of heading to Lincoln Northeast and watching Blue Hill play Falls City Sacred Heart on a Thursday at the state basketball tournament are over.
The Nebraska Schools Activities Association (NSAA) Friday approved a new four-day format for both the boys and girls state basketball tournaments. That change will eliminate using Lincoln Public Schools facilities during tournament play.
LPS gyms will still host third place games.
Prior to the pandemic, the tournament was run over three days with smaller classes playing their quarterfinal games at LPS sites. Under the new format, only the Bob Devaney Sports Center and Pinnacle Bank Arena will host quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship games.
This past season, both boys and girls were combined over six days. That won’t be the case going forward either since that was a one-off to accommodate the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.
In 2021, a five-day format was used. This was due to Devaney not being available as Nebraska volleyball was playing a spring season after COVID-19 postponed their fall 2020 schedule.
A four-day format allows teams that begin play on Wednesday to have a day off during their tournament. According to NSAA executive director Jay Bellar, a majority of schools supported the new format over the previously-used three-day tournament.