By Bryan Bloodworth
BLOOMINGTON – Ten local high schools will be represented in the 38th annual State Farm Holiday Basketball Classic, which tips off Dec. 27 at four venues in Bloomington-Normal. The 64-team field (boys and girls) includes four teams that took home state trophies, including state champions St. Joseph-Ogden in boys and Morton in girls.
“The State Farm Holiday Classic had another exceptional event in 2015 despite bad weather,” said tournament president Dan Highland. “This year several new teams with great basketball traditions are welcomed and tournament dates fall later in the week to make it more convenient for fans.”
Area schools competing in the boys tournament are Central Catholic, Tri-Valley, El Paso-Gridley, Prairie Central, Fieldcrest, Olympia (small school) and Normal Community and University High in the large school bracket.
Area schools competing in the girls tournament are Central Catholic, El Paso-Gridley, LeRoy (small school) and Bloomington, Normal Community, Normal West and University High in the large school bracket.
The tournament is divided into Small School and Large School brackets for both boys and girls based on actual enrollment rather than IHSA classification. The Holiday Classic is one of the largest, co-ed high school holiday basketball tournaments in the nation. This year the four venues include the Illinois Wesleyan University Shirk Center, Normal Community High School, Normal West High School and Central Catholic High School.
“Since 2009, the Holiday Classic has had 12 participating teams go on to win a state championship,” said tournament manager of operations Dave Oloffson. “The experience teams receive in Bloomington-Normal over the holidays goes a long way in preparing them for the postseason.”
Off the court, the Classic Tournament, Inc. has raised nearly $100,000 for the Holiday Classic Scholarship fund and has awarded $44,000 in scholarships to graduating student-athletes, who participated in the tournament. The 2016 scholarship award winners will be announced later this month. In addition, the tournament has donated more than $30,000 the past six years to participating high school basketball programs in McLean County.
And the 64 team will again host the 15th Annual Ron Knisley Memorial Shootout presented by the State Farm Holiday Classic and S.O.A.R. The Shootout will feature various Special Olympics teams from across the Midwest and will again be a two-day event running Dec. 29-30 at IWU’s Shirk Center.
For a complete list of the 64 participating teams, go to http://theclassic.org/team-list/,
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at [email protected]
