BOONE — A century after playing championships inside State Gym, the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa State University enter a new era together as the IHSAA State Basketball Tournament will move to Hilton Coliseum in 2027.

An initial five-year agreement will place the five-day, 32-team tournament inside Hilton Coliseum as the CyTown district is developed at the Iowa State Center and slated to come online in 2027.

“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.”

Hilton Coliseum boasts consistently strong attendance for the Cyclone basketball programs with a capacity of 14,267, and the programs annually rank among the national leaders in home attendance.

ISU will make facilities at Hilton and the attached and updated Scheman Building available for the IHSAA event. The Scheman Building is in the midst of a significant renovation which has created new hospitality spaces as well as other special events that the facility attracts.

The surrounding CyTown district will feature space for retail, food and beverage, common areas, and a 200-room Marriott Hotel, The Cardinal.

“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.”

IHSAA basketball brings eight qualifiers from each of four classifications to the state tournament. Since moving to a five-day format in 2018, the event has averaged nearly 50,000 paid attendees with full capacity available.

Ames played host to the IHSAA’s basketball tournament six times between 1917 and 1926, all inside then-Iowa State College’s State Gym.

The IHSAA concluded its 2025 championships on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, where the tournament has been hosted since 1963.

“We have great relationships in Des Moines and at Iowa Events Center, and we thank them for all their years of support and their continued work in hosting our events,” Keating said.