(Boone, IA) — After staying in the same city for 62 years, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has announced a new location for the Boys Basketball State Tournament — starting in 2027 the games will be played at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa St. University in Ames. The IHSAA had played its boys state tournament in Des Moines since 1963 first at Veterans Auditorium (now the Hy Vee Hall) and then later at the Wells Fargo Arena.
The IHSAA and Iowa St. have agreed to an initial five year agreement that will correspond with the opening of the new Cy Town district in 2027. ISU will make facilities at Hilton Coliseum and the attached and updated Scheman Building available for the IHSAA event.
This is not the first time the state tournament has been in Ames which played host to the IHSAA’s basketball tournament six times between 1917 and 1926, all inside then-Iowa State College’s State Gym. The most recent edition featured a small-school round robin, with Irwin topping Keystone, Grandview, and Lake View for the 1926 Class B title.
“We couldn’t be more excited about what this opportunity will offer our student-athletes, schools, and supporters as they experience an elite basketball environment at Hilton and an awesome new tournament community in CyTown and Ames,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said. “Our sincere appreciation goes to everyone who has helped make this possible at Iowa State University, Discover Ames and Cyclone Athletics.”
“On behalf of Iowa State University, thank you to the IHSAA board, Tom Keating, and Tom’s staff for deciding to bring the Athletic Association’s state basketball tournament to Ames to experience Hilton Magic,” Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. “We are excited to host this great event and our staff looks forward to working with the IHSAA to make this special for the athletes, coaches and fans whose teams reach the state tournament each year.”
