McDonald's Classic

Burger King Classic

Current Classic logo
Formerly	McDonald's Classic
Sport	High school basketball
Founded	1983
Founder	Ron Sertz
CEO	Bill Flanagan
Motto	"The Nation's Best"
No. of teams	4
Most recent champion(s)	St. John's College (D.C.)
Most titles	Rice High School, NY (4)
Qualification	Invitational

The Burger King Basketball Classic, formerly known as the McDonald's Classic from 1983 to 2010, is a four-team boys high school basketball invitational tournament held each year since 1983 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Since its inception in 1983, the Burger King Classic has been considered one of the best four-team high school tournaments in the country. Maxpreps.com and Eddie Oliver from Hoops USA called it "the best" and ESPN.com has called it one of the most impactful events of MLK weekend. Each year, nationally ranked teams with future NCAA Division-I and NBA players travel to Erie to battle for the championship and the opportunity to play against other top talent.

The Burger King Classic has hosted the nation's top-ranked team eight times, over 25 state champions and nearly two dozen All-Americans and future NBA players. Hosted by Cathedral Preparatory School, the tournament has drawn thousands of basketball fans from across the nation each year. Paul IV (VA) are the defending Classic champions while Rice (CA) has won the tournament a record four times.

The Burger King Classic has been played at three locations in its history. The Erie Insurance Arena was used to house the tournament in the 1980s. In 1989, the location was moved to Gannon University's Hammermill Center. In 2016, the tournament was moved to the JoAnn Mullen Gymnasium at the Cathedral Prep Events Center. The Classic is held in mid-January over a Friday and Saturday.

Ron Sertz, former Cathedral Prep Athletic Director and Director of Operations for the Erie Otters, founded the tournament and ran it for its first 25 years of existence. In 1983, after a year as Athletic Director at Cathedral Prep, he decided to begin a top-level tip-off classic for the community.

This tip-off tournament became the McDonald's Classic in 1983 and brought in three strong teams (Beaver Falls of PA, Bishop Loughlin of Brooklyn, NY, and Roman Catholic of Philadelphia, PA). The tournament was considered a success with Bishop Loughlin was crowned as the first Classic Champion, defeating the host Cathedral Prep Ramblers 70-63. Sertz decided to move the tournament into even more prominence and began to work harder and harder on bringing even stronger and more recognized teams every year. During the 25th anniversary of the Classic in 2008, Sertz announced his retirement as classic director. He was replaced by current Cathedral Prep Athletic Director Bill Flanagan.