[1] The TSSAA (commonly pronounced "Tee double-S double-A") is the only high school athletic organization in the United States to have a five-sport, Olympic-style spring sport championship tournament, known as Spring Fling, for baseball, softball, track and field, team and individual tennis, and soccer.

[3][4][5] The TSSAA was one of the first high school athletic organizations to host a central site for football championships, beginning in 1982.

[6] Brentwood Academy had sued the Association after the school was penalized for "undue influence" in recruiting football players, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court.

The state championship game for football, the BlueCross Bowl, which is held three consecutive days, ending the first Saturday of December, and includes Division I classes 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A, as well as Div.

Starting with the 2015 season, a new classification system was implemented for Division I football, separate from those of other sports.

Cities and towns near Tennessee's borders with surrounding states, i.e. Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, or Virginia, such as Bristol, Chattanooga, Clarksville, and Memphis, do have various schools, both public and private, who play nearby out-of-state teams (which are not TSSAA members) on a regular basis, e.g. Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia for Chattanooga teams or Virginia High School in Bristol, Virginia for Bristol, Tennessee teams.