Middle School Basketball Championships Set to Make Large Impact in Champaign-Urbana Area
Champaign, IL—The Champaign-Urbana area will host the Illinois Middle School Basketball Championships for the fourth time this March 21–23, 2025. 184 boys and girls’ teams representing 4th–8th grade in club and school divisions will compete for the championship at University of Illinois Campus Recreation’s Activities & Recreation Center (ARC), the Champaign Park District’s Leonhard Center and Martens Center, Brookens Gym and St. Thomas More High School.
“We are thrilled to bring our popular annual state tournament to Champaign-Urbana,”states Bill Reinking, Executive Director of the State Basketball Championship. “The region is the perfect location as it allows for convenient travel for the hundreds of youth teams from Rockford, Chicago Metro, Springfield, Carbondale, and all points in between. Securing a facility such as the University of Illinois Activities and Recreation Center, with its 10 courts under one roof, is sure to provide our basketball families with a one-of-a-kind experience.”
“It’s exciting to continue to showcase up-and-coming basketball athletes at the Middle School Basketball Championships,” explains Mark Brown, Director of Sports, Events, and Film with Experience Champaign-Urbana. “Basketball has a special place in our community, and we’re honored to continue to welcome athletes and their fans to provide them a top-notch experience during the championships.”
Brown estimates that the economic impact for the event will be $2.1 million.
Spectators can purchase single day tickets for $18 or 3-day passes for $32–$36. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.statebasketballchampionship.com/il-buy-tickets.
All games streamed live via BallerTV: https://www.statebasketballchampionship.com/ballertv-il
About State Basketball Championships
In 2012, Bill Reinking founded the National Middle School Basketball Association (NMSBA) with the mission of producing state-wide competition for the best youth basketball teams per state. The resulting State Basketball Championships have since taken root as annual, season-ending events in eight states across the USA. While our tournaments continue to expand across the nation, our mission to assemble the best youth teams remains the same wherever we go. To achieve this, we partner with independent tournaments and leagues to create a network of Qualifier Events through which top teams earn their bid to State. Our unique qualifier model serves to promote 500 community-based sports organizations nationwide, while funneling the fiercest and most geographically diverse competition into each State tournament.
