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BARTOW, Fla. — The biggest game in high school basketball is leaving Polk County, and while there’s no doubt it will be a hit to the local economy, it’s also a hit to local basketball teams.
Polk County has not only been home to the Florida High School Athletic Association State Championships, several teams from the county have won the big game. So, seeing this announcement isn’t the news many wanted to hear.
State champions are made on the court of Bartow High School. Just ask their coach, Terrence McGriff.
“We’re the only school in the history of Polk County who won back-to-back,” McGriff said.
The Bartow High School Yellow Jackets won back-to-back titles at the Florida High School Athletic Association Basketball State Championships in their backyard at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
“Our goal has always been to get to the ‘white house’ — that’s what we call the RP Funding Center,” McGriff said.
Now they have a new goal to shoot for after learning the FHSAA Basketball State Championship is moving to Jacksonville.
“For high school basketball, Polk County is the epicenter and been the epicenter of the state for about 50 years,” McGriff said. “I think they took it to Tallahassee for four or five years in the 70’s but for 45 of the 50 years, it’s been here.”
McGriff said he was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn FHSAA announced their move to the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
“It wasn’t shocking to me. I serve on the committee, the state championship committee for Polk County. There had been some grumblings about them taking it for a couple of years just for greener pastures. Everything is about this right,” he said, making a money gesture.
“And maybe it had been here, and they thought it was a little stale.”
He said it’s a hard hit to the local economy — something hotels, restaurants and retail will definitely feel. But for teams like the Bartow Yellow Jackets, it just means traveling, and their fans will have a longer drive to watch them play for another championship.
But McGriff said he hopes the change will only be temporary.
“They’ll be back because of what Polk County has to offer,” McGriff said. “The people of the community do a lot of the work for it, the set-up, going to get the sponsorships so Jacksonville did a great job to get the sponsorships. So, congratulations Jacksonville, they came with a nice paycheck but we’re consistent here.”
The 2026 FHSAA Basketball State Championships are scheduled for Feb. 24-27 at the University of North Florida arena in Jacksonville.
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Saundra Weathers
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