Georgia Southwestern to host GISA Final Four basketball tournament

GSW will host the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Boy’s and Girl’s State Basketball Championships in the Final Four inside GSW’s Storm Dome arena from March 3-6, 2021. For the third consecutive year, the top GISA high school basketball teams in the A, AA and AAA divisions will compete for a state championship in Americus.

“Georgia Southwestern is proud to partner once again with GISA by hosting the Final Four on our campus and continuing to build on a strong relationship with a great organization,” said GSW President Neal Weaver, Ph.D. “It’s been an odd year for sports and student-athletes. We’re glad that we could provide these players a safe place to play and allow some sense of normalcy as they compete in a collegiate arena.”

GSW continues to follow all USG guidelines to ensure the safety of guests and the players. All guests will be required to wear a face covering inside the Storm Dome. In addition, seating is marked off every other row to allow for social distancing.

This will be the fourth GISA tournament held in the Storm Dome this year with Covid precautions in place. In February, GSW hosted both the region and state tournaments for middle school and high school wrestling, as well as the region tournament for basketball.

Hosting the Final Four tournament at GSW in Americus has meant a small economic boost for local restaurants, shops, gas stations and hotels over the last three years. The City of Americus reports a steady increase in hotel/motel tax in 2018, 2019, and 2020 thanks to the GISA tournament.

The Americus Trolley, kindly provided by Downtown Americus Main Street, will once again offer guests transportation to and from downtown Americus so guests can have the opportunity to visit shops and restaurants. The tournament will also be held during the March First Friday event, Music on Main Street.

Some local restaurants have agreed to generously donate 10% of their proceeds to the GISA organization. Roman Oven on Wed. March 3 from 5-9 p.m. Pat’s Place and Carter’s Fried Chicken all day on Thurs. March 4. Farmhouse all day and La Hacienda from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Fri. March 5, and Farmhouse and Wok N’ Wings all day on Sat. March 6.

The public is allowed to attend the games. Tickets can be purchased at the door, $15 for adults and $10 for students.

For GSW information, visit Georgia Southwestern’s Facebook event ‘GISA Final Four at GSW’. For Americus information, visit Downtown Americus Main Street and Americus-Sumter County Tourism’s Facebook page. For GISA bracket information, visit www.gisaschools.org.