Greensboro Holiday Basketball Tournament Renamed AAR Invitational for 2025

Tournament organizers revealed a new title sponsor and name for one of Guilford County's most enduring holiday sports traditions. The event founded in 1976 as the Little 4 Invitational will hold its 49th edition under the AAR Invitational banner after AAR Corp acquired HAECO Americas. The announcement was made on Nov. 17, 2025 and the tournament is scheduled for Dec. 18 to 20, 2025 at the Greensboro Complex Novant Health Fieldhouse and Special Events Center.

The field for the tournament includes Bishop McGuinness, Dudley, Greensboro Day, Grimsley, Northern Guilford, Page, Southeast Guilford and Wesleyan Academy. Seeds and pairings will be revealed at an event on Dec. 4 at Piedmont Hall. Greensboro Sports Council president Donald Moore emphasized that the tournament will continue the same traditions and competition despite the new corporate name.

Local residents should expect the familiar mix of high school rivalry and holiday era spectatorship that the tournament has offered for decades. For participating school programs, the event provides non conference competition, exposure for student athletes and a high profile setting for coaches scouting team development ahead of the winter season. For downtown Greensboro and surrounding businesses, the tournament contributes to winter hospitality demand and local foot traffic at a time when the community balances holiday activities with scholastic events.

The renaming reflects a broader pattern of corporate sponsorship in community sports, where naming rights change as corporate ownership shifts. That pattern can bring financial support and operational stability to events, while also prompting public interest in how sponsorship funds are allocated and how decisions are made. Local governments, school districts and community organizations that partner with sponsors will face ongoing questions about transparency and the priorities set in agreements that bear on youth athletics and public facilities.

Organizers have set a clear schedule for the run up to the event with the seeds announcement on Dec. 4 and the games scheduled across three days in mid December. Fans, school communities and civic groups can follow local outlets and the Greensboro Sports Council for pairings, ticketing information and game times as the tournament approaches.

As the AAR Invitational takes the court this December, Guilford County will see a familiar tradition under a new corporate name. The change underscores how institutional partnerships shape local sporting life, and it gives community stakeholders an opportunity to review how such partnerships serve athletes, schools and local residents.