Mid-South Conference to host basketball championships at Bowling Green High School

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Mid-South Conference held 18 of its championship tournaments in Bowling Green in the past year.

Now, they’re set to host the championship for their most popular sport at Bowling Green High School.

“It’s an honor for me to announce that our 2020 men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments will be held here,” said Mid-South Conference Commissioner Eric Ward.

Ward shared that news during a press conference Wednesday morning inside the Bowling Green High School gym.

The announcement, though, has so much more to do with the impact it’ll have in this community, rather than about merely hosting a basketball tournament.

“It was a win for our students, our student-athletes as well,” said Gary Fields, Superintendent for the Bowling Green Independent School District. “We want to expose our student-athletes to the many opportunities that they have.”

The influx of visitors from fans of each competing university will also prove to be extremely beneficial to the Bowling Green tourism industry.

“Millions are spent in our community by Mid-South spectators, players, and staff members,” Sherry Murphy, Executive Director of the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said.

The conference currently holds 20-plus championships in the area, a big boost for many local businesses.

“These visitors do more than just play their sports,” added Murphy. “They eat, they sleep, they buy gas, and they shop.”

There are other positives, too.

Hosting events like these exposes more people to all the things Bowling Green has to offer.

So far, teams and fans alike have enjoyed themselves whenever they’ve spent time in Bowling Green.

“To put something on like this, it takes an entire community, and Bowling Green has stepped up like no other community that we’ve been a part of thus far,” said Brian Evans, Director of Athletics for Georgetown College, a member of the Mid-South Conference. “We’re really, really excited to be here.”

Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson also shared his thoughts on the partnership.

“We work together to make this a great place, a great tournament, and a great opportunity for everybody,” he said.

The men’s and women’s basketball championships will be held at Bowling Green High School from March 6-9, 2020.