Why the KHSAA Owns ‘Sweet 16®’: The Federal Trademark, NCAA Licensing Pact, and Cathedral Venues

KHSAA Sweet 16® • Federal Trademark Reg. No. 1,489,453
Rupp Arena Tournament Cathedral

1. The Origins: How Kentucky Coined ‘Sweet Sixteen’

Decades before television turned collegiate March Madness into a national gambling and broadcast extravaganza, Kentucky high school basketball had already perfected the 16-team state tournament format.

In the 1920s and 1930s, sports editors at The Courier-Journal in Louisville and the Lexington Herald struggled with headlines describing the 16 regional champions that converged on Lexington or Louisville. Borrowing the classic American poetic phrase associated with adolescent coming-of-age (“sweet sixteen”), columnists began referring to the 16 regional champions as the “Sweet Sixteen.”

By the 1950s, the KHSAA officially adopted the terminology on program covers, tickets, and radio broadcasts. In Kentucky, saying “I’m going to the Sweet Sixteen” meant only one thing: you had secured a ticket book for four days of non-stop high school basketball.

2. The Legal Showdown: USPTO Registration No. 1,489,453

Under the forward-thinking leadership of KHSAA leadership in the mid-1980s, the Association took the visionary step of seeking formal federal trademark protection. On May 24, 1988, the United States Patent and Trademark Office officially issued Reg. No. 1,489,453 to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association for the service mark “SWEET 16” covering interscholastic athletic tournaments.

When the NCAA launched its multi-billion-dollar marketing juggernaut in the late 1980s and 1990s, television networks attempted to brand the regional semifinals of the Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament as the “NCAA Sweet Sixteen.” The NCAA’s trademark attorneys attempted to register the mark, only to receive a formal refusal from the USPTO based on priority ownership by the KHSAA.

3. The 1998 Historic Concordat: Co-Exclusive Licensing

Recognizing that Kentucky’s legal claim was impregnable, the NCAA chose negotiation over federal court litigation. In 1998, the KHSAA and NCAA entered into a landmark co-exclusive licensing agreement:

• Collegiate Licensing Rights: The NCAA received the right to license “Sweet 16” and “Sweet Sixteen” for its collegiate men’s and women’s post-season basketball tournaments.
• Annual Royalty Payments: The NCAA pays annual licensing fees to the KHSAA, providing ongoing revenue to support Kentucky high school student-athletes.
• Interscholastic Sovereignty: The KHSAA maintains 100% exclusive authority over all high school and amateur tournament applications, commercial retail apparel in Kentucky, and state tournament marketing.

4. The Cathedral Venues: The Hardwood Pilgrimages

The cultural gravitas of the Sweet 16 is inseparable from the arenas where it has played. For over a century, the tournament has been staged in communal monuments:

• Alumni Gymnasium, Lexington (1918–1923, 1928): UK’s cozy brick gym on Avenue of Champions, scene of the 1928 Carr Creek Barefoot Boys final.
• Jefferson County Armory / Louisville Gardens (1924, 1931–1950): The massive municipal arena where 36-0 Brewers High School won the 1948 championship.
• Memorial Coliseum, Lexington (1951–1964): Built to honor Kentucky’s WWII fallen; scene of Cuba’s 1952 triumph and King Kelly Coleman’s 1956 legend.
• Freedom Hall, Louisville (1965–1994): Four decades of classic battles before 20,000 screaming fans on the state fairgrounds.
• Rupp Arena, Lexington (1979, 1985–Present): The 20,500-seat mecca where all 16 regions assemble every March for the championship rounds.

5. Civic Devotion: The 15-Game Ritual

As documented in the Hall of Fame archives, the Sweet 16 is a way of life. Couples plan their weddings and honeymoons around tournament week. Families pass down ticket blocks from generation to generation for 40 and 50 consecutive years. When a mountain team like Laurel County, Clay County, or Hazard advances to the semifinals, entire towns shut down—as locals say, “you couldn’t find a light on in London or Manchester on Saturday night.”