The Les Schwab Invitational presented by Express Employment Professionals is a 5 Day, 32 game, high school basketball Tournament. It is THE Tournament in the Northwest and the only one that is nationally recognized. 16 Teams, 32 Games, 1 Champion.

THE Tournament features 16 teams chosen from Oregon’s top high schools, and Nike Elite national schools who are selected to compete on a big stage, early in the season. 16 Teams, 32 Games, 1 Champion.

Participation is based on a selection process which occurs each year to bring some of the best players to the Pacific Northwest. 16 Teams, 32 Games, 1 Champion.

During the early 1990s many of Oregon’s best high school boys’ basketball teams were traveling out-of-state to play in preseason holiday tournaments. While these tournaments provided players with the opportunity to play against other high caliber programs, they denied local fans the chance to see Oregon’s basketball talent prior to the season. Preseason basketball media coverage is also limited in the PNW due to Oregon’s five-week football playoff system which finishes up in mid-December.

To brighten basketball’s spotlight, legendary high school basketball coaches Barry Adams and Nick Robertson and the Oregon High School Coaches Association proposed a preseason tournament in which Oregon teams could play up to four games. These four games would then only count as two against their 22-game schedule maximum. This new arrangement would align Oregon’s competition rules with states like California, Arizona and Nevada – and allow teams from other states to come to Oregon to play.

The proposal was made to the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) and after two years of letters, phone calls, meetings and lobbying, the OSAA Delegate Assembly agreed to the proposed plan. In 1996, with the OSAA’s approval and financial assistance from local sponsors like Les Schwab, the first annual Oregon Holiday Invitational (OHI) was played.

In 2000, the tournament name changed from the Oregon Holiday Invitational to the Les Schwab Invitational to recognize Les Schwab’s continued support of the tournament. In 2001, Fred Meyer was added as the presenting sponsor, and in 2009, Express Employment Professionals replaced Fred Meyer as the presenting sponsor. In 2004, the tournament moved to Hillsboro’s Liberty High School to provide fans with easier access and an intimate, exciting basketball experience.

Since moving to Liberty, the tournament has been recognized by multiple national media outlets as one of the top tournaments in the nation because of the talent, format, support from fans in the area, from the state of Oregon and in the Northwest! The Hillsboro school district unfortunately raised the costs dramatically forcing the tournament to move in 2024. We are so excited to have Portland State University as the new home for the 28th Annual Les Schwab Invitational.