Monday March 18th, 2024 10:50PM

GHSA moves basketball championships away from Macon

THOMASTON — The march to Macon is at an end.

The Georgia High School Association announced on Thursday that it will no longer hold its annual basketball championship games in the Macon Coliseum and is moving the contests to the University of Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum and Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion.

The move will go into effect for the 2016-17 season.

Following is part of a press release posted to the GHSA website about the decision:

The Georgia High School Association, in conjunction with the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, today announces that agreements have been reached allowing the two schools to share the hosting of the sixteen championship games of the 2017 GHSA state basketball tournament. These March 2017 games will mark the return of the basketball finals to Georgia Tech for the first time since 2003 and will be the first ever for the University of Georgia.

"The University of Georgia and Georgia Tech have two of the premier basketball complexes in the state," said GHSA Executive Director Gary Phillips.  "Both schools worked tirelessly with the GHSA to devise a schedule that eliminates any conflict between the state championship games and the Bulldogs’ and Yellow Jackets’ own use of these marvelous facilities.  The primary goal of the GHSA is to promote the best interests of Georgia’s high school student-athletes, and we are thrilled at the experience these venues will offer to the teams, their schools, and their fans."

UGA's Stegeman Coliseum will host eight championship games on Wednesday, March 8 and Thursday, March 9, 2017.  Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion will be the site of the eight remaining championship games on Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11, 2017.  The first of the four games on each day will tip-off at 2:00 p.m.  The specific order and facility assignment for the sixteen championship games have not yet been determined. 

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