ORLANDO, Fla. (May 12, 2026) – The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is set to start off the summer season with the 2026 AAU Basketball Memorial Day Classic in Orlando, Florida. Games will be played at Walt Disney World Resort and the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) throughout the long weekend. The three-day event is expected to bring in $33 million in economic impact to Central Florida this year based on 13,000 estimated attendees. 

The event will be hosted at Disney’s state-of-the-art ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and the award-winner Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) from May 23 through May 25, 2026. In conjunction with Visit Orlando and Greater Orlando Sports Commission, the AAU will welcome nearly 700 teams to this year’s tournament.

“We are so grateful for our community partners who continue to make premier events like the AAU Memorial Day Classic so special for every athlete involved,” said Jo Mirza, AAU President. “This event gives a quick glimpse into the energy behind AAU tournaments.”

The AAU Memorial Day Classic continues to grow and this year is no different -- selling out with more than 6,650 athletes taking to the courts. Of the more than 690 teams competing, 65 teams are from the Greater Orlando area.

For the fifteenth year in a row, the AAU Memorial Day Classic continues to be one of the premier showcases of youth basketball, bringing athletes, coaches, and families from across the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Chile, and Mexico.

Games will be contested at OCCC and ESPN Wide World of Sports during pool-play on Saturday and Sunday. All championship games will be played on Monday, May 25 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

More information about the AAU Memorial Day Classic is available on the AAU website. Please see the links below for respective information about the tournament: Boys Basketball Information & Girls Basketball Information.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Troy MacNeill, AAU Marketing & Public Relations Manager
o: 407-828-3055 | e: troy@aausports.org

Katarina Dos Santos, OCCC Marketing & Communications Manager
o: 407-685-5796 | e: Katarina.DosSantos@occc.net

David Silba, Public Relations Manager, Walt Disney World Resort

David.Sibila@disney.com

About the AAU:

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is the largest, non-profit, event-driven multi-sports organizations in the country. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 1,000,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts annually. For more information, visit www.aausports.org.

About ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex:

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is where sports dreams come true for athletes and fans of all ages. Located at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, the complex is the home of a variety of events including Disney Soccer and Disney Spring Training and has accommodated 70 different sports featuring athletes from 70 different countries since opening in 1997. Designed to provide professional, amateur and youth athletes with experiences synonymous with the names Disney and ESPN, the 260-plus acre facility features multiple competition venues, including 16 baseball/softball fields; a 9,500-seat stadium; a state-of-the-art indoor arena and two versatile field houses for basketball , volleyball, eSports and other indoor sports; and 17 multi-purpose fields for outdoor sports including soccer, football and field hockey. The complex includes a professional production center that produces content for global distribution on the Disney family of networks. For more information, visit www.disneysportsnews.com for news releases, photos and videos.

About the Orange County Convention Center:

The award-winning Orange County Convention Center provides approximately $3.9 billion in economic impact to Central Florida annually. In recent years, the Convention Center has averaged nearly 200 events, including 115 conventions and tradeshows that attract more than 1.5 million attendees to the region each year. For more information about the Orange County Convention Center, visit www.occc.net.