Tournament History

The San Diego Classic is the nations largest high school girls basketball tournament.  Wade Vickery, the winningest coach in San Diego County with 609 wins, started the San Diego Classic in July of 1987 with only 8 teams.  It has grown each year to the current total of 336 in 2008.  What makes our tournament unique is that all girls must attend the same high school, there are no travel or all-star teams.  In 1995 we moved the tournament head quarters from Santana High School in Santee, CA to the RIMAC Arena on the campus of UC San Diego.  A few years later we added the Aztec Recreation Center on the campus of SDSU and also the Sports Center at Alliant International University (formerly called USIU).  In 2005 we added the Jenny Craig Pavilion and Sports Center on the campus of University of San Diego.  Currently, there are nine different multi court sites used throughout San Diego County.

 

As the tournament grew and grew, two teams were always involved, Santana and Winslow High School from Winslow, AZ.  Much credit goes out to Don Petranovich, the winningest coach in Arizona, from Winslow with spreading the word to teams in Arizona.  He is also the only coach to have participated every year of the tournament.  Another person of note is Brent Carter from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, AZ for participating for 19 straight years.

The San Diego Classic is also a true family affair.  Wade’s wife Nancy is the site manager at UC San Diego and is in charge of all mailings and administrative tasks that happen before the tournament.  Their two children, Adam and Carina, stuff envelopes, collect score sheets, sell programs and t-shirts, and do many other miscellaneous tasks both prior to and during the tournament.  Wade’s older brother Steve, a very successful baseball coach at El Capitan High School, is the site manager at Alliant.  His sister, Sue Kutzner, sells tickets also at Alliant and is the site manager at the USD Sports Center.  Longtime family friends, Kenny and Valinda Sutton, are the site managers at San Diego State University.

San Diego Classic

The Nation’s Largest High School Girls Basketball Tournament