For the first time, high school basketball fans from Suffolk to Salem to Springfield can join and cheer their favorite teams this weekend as the 2008 State Basketball Championships are televised live across Virginia – thanks in part to support from the Virginia College Savings Plan.

The Virginia High School League (VHSL), which has spearheaded youth athletic and academic events since 1913, is teaming up with Fox Richmond and COX Cable System to broadcast the VHSL’s eight final games being played Friday and Saturday (March 14-15) at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond.

Both girls and boys championship games will be aired from tip-off to the final whistle on five stations spanning the state, including WRLH-TV in Richmond, WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, WHSV-TV in Harrisonburg, WDRL-TV in Roanoke, WDCW in Washington, D.C. and Cox Cable in Norfolk.

The Virginia College Savings Plan is co-sponsoring the televised championships to showcase the talents and skills of Virginia youth while underscoring to their families that saving even modest sums through Virginia’s tax-free 529 accounts can turn college goals into higher education accomplishments.

To learn more about Virginia’s college savings programs, go to www.Virginia529.com

Championship team listings and game times are available on the VHSL web site at http://www.vhsl.org/BkbState.htm.