1976 State Champs Honored at Rupp Arena for 50th Anniversary of "Saving Tournament"

Series Finale of "50 Years as Champions" to be Released This Friday

Team members and cheerleaders from the 1976 ECHS Wildcat state championship basketball team at Rupp Arena, March 21, 2026.

Darren Doyle, story:
The local legends were honored once more this year in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of their phenomenal feat of winning the KHSAA boys' basketball state championship in 1976.

The Kentucky State High School Athletic Association honored former members of the Wildcats along with cheerleading team members at this year's state championship game, held at Rupp Arena in Lexington. 

The 1976 Region 4 Champion Wildcats were ranked 14th out of 16 teams going into the Sweet Sixteen tournament and made history with their legendary run to the school's championship victory.

They defeated Betsy Layne, 77-72, Harrison County 61-57, and then Shelby County 53-52 in the semifinals. They then defeated Christian County in the championship game 74-52 on Saturday, March 27, 1976.

The KHSAA had decided that the 1976 tournament would be the final year of a single class, winner-take-all tournament. A multi-class system was set to be put in place for the following 76-77 season in order to allow similarly-sized schools to compete against each other. However, instead of signing the final documentation, the KHSAA commissioner threw the papers in the trash immediately after the Wildcats' win, seeing that a small school could compete with everyone else. They became the team that "saved the tournament."

Kentucky remains the only state in America with a single-class state basketball tournament besides Delaware; however, Delaware has already announced they will change after next season.

These stories and more are documented in the Edmonson Voice video series "50 Years as Champions," which is a 5-part event, first released on February 27th. The series finale is set to be released this Friday, March 27th, which is the actual 50th anniversary of their championship night.

The series is available for free streaming exclusively on The Edmonson Voice Facebook Pages, YouTube Channel, and this site, under the Sports Page tab "50 Years as Champions."