JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The road to a state championship now runs through Jacksonville.
For the first time in 50 years, the Florida High School Athletic Association basketball state championships are being hosted in the city - and the University of North Florida is at the center of it all.
The hardwood at UNF is home to 74 games over the next 19 days, tipping off nearly two and a half weeks of championship basketball. It’s the first time Jacksonville has hosted the basketball state finals since 1976.
And for teams like Hilliard, it almost feels like home court.
“Then to be this close to home, on their home turf, you might as well say because it’s so close to home where all of their fans are able to come,” Hilliard head coach Daneisha Alderman said. “It’s just an amazing feeling, and I know it’s going to make them even hungrier.”
Hilliard is back in the Final Four, and with the short trip to UNF, their fan base can pack the stands.
For assistant coach Brianti Saunders, the stage brings back memories.
“It brought back all of the feels,” Saunders said. “I remember going into the same locker room. Getting that same feeling.”
Saunders played at Stetson and once competed against UNF on this very court. Now she’s watching her 13-year-old sister suit up for Hilliard in the same atmosphere.
“So happy for her,” Saunders said. ”It was electrifying for me and even more exciting for me as her big sister to see her play in this same atmosphere.”
But the championships didn’t land there overnight.
Ervin Lewis, UNF’s Deputy Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations, spearheaded the effort - a three-year process built on relationships and vision.
“With our relationships with the Florida High School Athletic Association, while they were here on campus at other championships, I just asked, ‘hey, by the way, come take a look at what we’re doing across campus at other venues,’” Lewis said. “Just sitting and conversating with them, they saw our vision as well.”
Lewis knows firsthand what this moment means.
As a sophomore at Jefferson County High School in 1990, he competed in a state championship game in Lakeland.
“I think I was a sophomore in high school and we competed against Riviera Beach. We lost by like three points, but it was an amazing experience for me.”
Now, he wants Jacksonville to become synonymous with championship moments.
“What I would like to do is just make Jacksonville and the University of North Florida the hub of all state championships,” Lewis said. “It’s not only for UNF, but it’s for the Jacksonville community. As we continue to elevate what we do here as far as running championships. The city around us continues to support us and so we’re growing and they’re growing as well.”
UNF already hosts track state meets and has hosted the volleyball state championship. Next month, the ASUN basketball tournament will tip off there as well.
For now, the spotlight is on high school hoops and for the next 19 days, the state’s best will chase a title right here in Jacksonville.