The Greater Lowell Holiday Basketball Tournament was born in 1977 out of the Greater Lowell chapter of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) Local 95. There were four Board 95 members who were central figures in the founding of the tournament – Tony Romano Sr., Larry Kelleher, Larry Cavanaugh Sr., and Pete Sheehan. ​ Tony Romano Sr. served as the first men’s basketball head coach of the University of Lowell (now U Mass Lowell) and Larry Kelleher was his assistant coach. The newly built University of Lowell Costello Gymnasium served as the neutral host site, with the feel of a college campus, and was an instant attraction to teams and local hoop enthusiasts, as well as a great recruiting tool for the upstart U Lowell program. Pete Sheehan (Board 95 Secretary-Treasurer) served as the head of the committee with Tony Romano Sr. serving as the Chairperson. Both Tony and Larry Cavanaugh Sr. served as tournament assignors for many years. Other significant contributors to the success of the tournament were Jack Noonan, Billy Kelleher, and Bobby Nangle. There were very few Holiday Tournaments at the time of inception. What made this tournament more unique is that the officials donated their time to referee games. All proceeds were donated to the tournament scholarship fund which between 1977 and 2019, returned over $125,000.00 to deserving, graduating student-athletes who participated in the tournament. ​ The eight team boys’ tournament featured local power house teams on one side of the bracket such as Lowell, Chelmsford, Acton Boxborough and Westford Academy (Lowell and Westford Academy are the only two original teams remaining.) The other side of the bracket featured a revolving cast of talented teams such as Durfee, Cambridge Rindge & Latin, St. John’s Prep, Lexington, Providence Center of RI, Holy Cross of NY, Bishop Guertin, Catholic Memorial and Windsor CT. ​ From 1981 to 1997 a girls’ tournament was also added and featured teams such as Lowell, Tewksbury, Chelmsford, Acton-Boxborough, Littleton, Billerica, Greater Lowell, and Laconia, NH. In 1987, a small school boys’ division was added and remained until 1997. The small school boys’ division was also resurrected from 2013 through 2019. This division featured teams such as Greater Lowell, Lexington Christian, Dracut, Dom Savio, Tyngsboro, Littleton, Bedford, Innovation Academy, Pentucket and Lowell Catholic. This tournament still continues today as the Jack Fletcher Tournament under the direction of Lowell Catholic High School. ​ In 1991 the tournament moved from the U Lowell Costello gymnasium to Greater Lowell Vocational school. In 1998, the tournament moved to the newly christened Tsongas Arena and the opening round for that year was the first ever basketball game to be played in the building. From 2004 to 2007, the tournament was played in nomadic fashion, with participants hosting different rounds of the tournament on different nights. In 2007, interest in the tournament had waned, and only four boys’ teams remained. In 2008, the tournament received new life with the adoption of the Lowell Spinners (Red Sox Single A Minor League Affiliate) as the primary tournament sponsor. The tournament also returned to its roots at the Costello Arena at UMass Lowell. The 2008 final featured Westford Academy defeating rival Acton Boxboro in overtime 93-92 in front of a packed house at Costello, to win the Canalligator Trophy – the World’s Largest Bobblehead Trophy. ​ In 2013, U Mass Lowell was elevated to Division 1 status. Due to NCAA regulations prohibiting in season tournaments at Division 1 venues, the tournament was forced to find another home. An appeal was made to the NCAA because of the history of the tournament, but the appeal was lost. IAABO 95 and the Tournament along with the Chelmsford Lions League donated a scoreboard to the new Lowell Catholic gym. The small school division was restarted, and the tournament enjoyed a new home at Lowell Catholic from 2013 until 2019. ​ Covid caused the termination of the 2020 tournament and ended Lowell Catholic as the host institution. The Lowell Holiday Tournament (now 8 boys’ teams) played at Westford Academy in 2021, Lowell High School in 2022, and Westford Academy again in 2023. Covid also ceased the tournament scholarship program; however, the Pete Sheehan Sportsmanship Award and Scholarship is still awarded annually by IAABO 95 to one area male and one area female student-athlete who exemplifies sportsmanship and leadership in the game of basketball. The Tony Romano Sr. Award is given to the MVP of the tournament each year.