History

The page has turned and a new chapter is being written by the NYS Federation of Secondary School Athletic Associations as the Federation's state championship basketball tournament comes to the state capital, Albany, NY, this year.

Following a 45-year ban on high school basketball state championship tournaments in New York State, the State Education Department granted approval in 1978 for the first Boys Federation tournament to be conducted on an experimental basis. The first tournament was held in Syracuse, NY, in March 1979. Rochester, NY, became the site in 1980 before the tournament found a 30-year home in Glens Falls, NY, beginning in 1981.

The first Girls Federation basketball tournament was held in 1982 at Union College, Schenectady, NY. The girls' tournament then moved to various other sites including the Adirondack Community College, Queensbury High School, and Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. In 1995, the Federation voted to merge its two tournaments bringing both boys and girls state championships to the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The original boys tournament was named the Super Sixteen tournament where the 4 Associations (NYSPHSAA, PSAL, NYSCHSAA and NYSAIS) competed in 4 classes (A, B, C, D). In September 2000, the tournament became known as the Federation Basketball Tournament of Champions. Beginning with the 2004 tournament, competition has been held in 3 classes for boys and girls (AA, A, B).