As winter break approaches, the 41st year of one of the largest local tournaments in the Tri-Cities will take place in Viking Hall. The tournament, formerly known as “The Arby’s Classic,” will take on a new name and sponsor, now known as “The Classic.”
“[On July 23rd], it came out into the media that Tennessee High and Arby’s were separating,” said Athletic Director Blaine Brown.

Stepping up to fill the role of sponsor for the upcoming tournament will be Toyota of Bristol. Toyota’s general manager, Brady Gandy, said they were excited to be a part of “a great legacy, a great tournament, and a great opportunity.”
“Toyota presented an offer to Tennessee High that was really good, but the thing that really stood out about Toyota was that they didn’t just want to be a presenting sponsor,” said Brown. “They wanted to be a partner with Tennessee High athletics and just Tennessee High in general.”
Although the idea of the tournament no longer being called “The Arby’s Classic” may seem like a major change, senior basketball player Landon Graham says that “it is the same teams it would’ve been [and the] same bracket. The only thing that has changed is the name.”
“It feels a little weird changing the name, but other than that, it’s kind of the same thing.” said Graham. “It’s the same goal: you’re trying to win.”
On December 26th, Tennessee High will play their first game in the newly coined tournament against the Madison-Ridgeland Academy Patriots at 7pm. Including thirty games, 18 teams, and thousands of spectators, the tournament is sure to be a success.
“They want to upgrade the tournament more, they want to make bigger things happen and make it more exciting, so it’s going to turn out to be a [much] better partnership,” said basketball coach Michael McMeans. “We are going to get to do better things than have been done in the past.”