By: Joeseph Baez, Spring '24 Intern

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is set to host the 2024 Boys Basketball State Tournament from Thursday, March 14th through Sunday, March 17^th at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls (Section 2).
 
“We are really excited about this,” said Bob Mayo, NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball State Coordinator. “Glens Falls and Section 2 are great hosts for this event and run it all with volunteers the entire weekend. The student-athletes of New York are going to have a great experience and we’ll get to crown six state champions in the process.”
 
Cool Insuring Arena is a 4,794 seat multi-purpose arena located in downtown Glens Falls and annually holds a multitude of tournaments and concerts. They are hosting the State Tournament for the third year of a three- year bid. Prior to 2017, Glens Falls hosted the event for 36 consecutive years before Binghamton won the bid and hosted from 2017-2019. Glens Falls won the bid back from 2022-24 (COVID canceled 2020 & 2021) then just recently, Binghamton was approved to host from 2025-27.
 
In 2023, the following teams won state titles with just one returning for 2024: Victor (V) in Class AA, Tappan Zee (I) in Class A, Westhill (III) in Class B, Randolph (VI) in Class C, and Avoca-Prattsburgh (V) in Class D. Last year’s tournament marked the first basketball championship for Victor, Tappan Zee and Randolph. Avoca-Prattsburgh grabbed their second straight Class D championship and are the only team to return to the tournament in 2024. Haldane finished as the runner-up team in Class C last year and returns to the tournament in hopes of their first title since 2016.

This year will be the first year NYSPHSAA will crown six state champions, an increase from five classifications. A total of 24 teams will play in six classifications with semifinals starting on Thursday evening with Class B followed by the remaining five classes on Friday, and finals on Saturday and Sunday.
 
“On behalf of the 77 volunteers, we are thrilled to host the NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships at Cool Insuring Arena,” said Chip Corlew, NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament Director. “We are certain athletes, coaches and fans will have a great experience when they see the amenities that Warren County and the City of Glens Falls has to offer. It will be a memorable for everyone and some great basketball to watch.”
 
General admission tickets can be purchased online at SeatGeek or in person at the SeatGeek Box Office at Cool Insuring Arena. Premium seating behind team benches will be sold as a special ticket by session. Suites will also be available for sale, by session, and can be purchased by calling the Director of Premium Services at (518) 480-3355 x321

All semifinals and finals will be streamed on the NFHS Network, the official broadcasting partner of NYSPHSAA.