Tennessee High unveils new direction for ‘The Classic’

BRISTOL — Tennessee High School and Bristol Tennessee City Schools announced a new direction this week for the region’s premier holiday basketball tournament.

The Classic will be held Dec. 26-28 and Dec. 30-31 at Tennessee High School. The 40-year hoops tradition, formerly known as the Arby’s Classic, draws elite teams and talented student-athletes from top basketball programs across the country.

According to Dr. Annette Tudor, the BTCS director of schools, the school district went through a bid process late last year and has been in contract negotiations with the tournament’s previous headline sponsor, AES Restaurant Group, for about six months. While the school district was looking forward to a continued partnership with AES, the sides were unable to reach an agreement. So the school district decided to take the tournament in a new direction.

“We are experiencing tremendous successes with our athletic teams and student-athletes,” Tudor said. “We have exciting things happening with the launch of our Athletic Hall of Fame and the plan to transform Viking Hall. This is yet another step in our growth as a school and as an athletic department.

“The name is not what defines the tournament. Our athletes, coaches, parents and volunteers are what make this tournament so special. The Classic is and always has been Tennessee High School and, in a sense, we are bringing it back home — home to community partners who are invested in this community and invested in our young people,” she said.

Tournament organizers will be connecting with longtime local sponsors soon and plan to add even more community partners.

“For your die-hard fan, The Classic is about great basketball, but there’s no denying that for many this week after Christmas is just as much about tradition and our community coming together. We are excited about the opportunity to honor both of those with a new level of community involvement, more local partnerships, and the same level of intense competition and excellence fans have come to love and expect,” Tudor said.

The Classic, which began in 1983 as the Mountain Empire Classic, is one of the premier high school basketball tournaments in the nation. It begins every year on Dec. 26 or 27 and lasts five full days. It is played at Viking Hall.

All proceeds from the tournament benefit the Tennessee High School Athletic Department.