NBL1 North
NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to bring NBL1 to Queensland. NBL1 replaced the former QBL to create more professional pathways and opportunities for males and females playing basketball in Queensland. As a result, the QBL became the north conference of NBL1. In 2022, the league will expanded into the Northern Territory with a club from Darwin.
| Formerly | Queensland State Basketball League 1986–1993 CBA North 1994–1998 ABA North 1999–2001 Queensland Australian Basketball League 2002–2008 Queensland Basketball League 2009–2019 |
|---|---|
| Sport | Basketball |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Inaugural season | 1986 |
| No. of teams | M: 16 W: 16 |
| Country | Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | M: Gold Coast Rollers (3rd title) W: Townsville Flames (5th title) |
| Most titles | M: Cairns Marlins (9 titles) W: Southern Districts Spartans (12 titles) |
| Related competitions | NBL1 Queensland State League |
| Official website | NBL1.com.au/North |
History
The league was formed in 1986 as the Queensland State Basketball League. In 1994, the league merged with the South and East conferences of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) to form a North conference.[1] 1998 saw further CBA expansion with the inclusion of a Central Conference from South Australia. The CBA was renamed the Australian Basketball Association (ABA) for the 1999 season and later added the Big V and the Waratah League for a total of six conferences. As a member of the ABA, the league took on the name of Queensland Australian Basketball League (QABL) in the early 2000s and set up a division system to separate the north and south teams within the state. The Sunstate (North Queensland) and Southern Cross (South Queensland) divisions were a big part of the league for a number of years, remaining in tacked up until the 2006 season. Following the 2006 season, the QABL restructured the competition, which saw the two divisions combining to have a statewide league of only one division for the 2007 season.[2] In 2009, the QABL became known as the QBL following the demise of the Australian Basketball Association.
In October 2019, Basketball Queensland and the National Basketball League (NBL) announced a new partnership to bring NBL1 to Queensland in 2020, with NBL1 replacing the QBL.[3] On 15 January 2020, the QBL was officially renamed NBL1 North and became the north conference of NBL1.[4] However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled.[5]
For the 2022 season, the NBL1 North had a club from Darwin – the Darwin Salties – represented for the first time under the joint management of Darwin Basketball Association (DBA) and Basketball Northern Territory (BNT). It saw the NBL1 become the first Australian sport league to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia.[6]
Current clubs
| Club | City | State | Arena | Joined NBL1 in | NBL1 Championships | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Capitals* | Brisbane | Queensland | Auchenflower Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Cairns Dolphins/Cairns Marlins* | Cairns | Queensland | Early Settler Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Darwin Salties | Darwin | Northern Territory | Darwin Basketball Stadium | 2022 | 0 | N/A |
| Gold Coast Rollers* | Gold Coast | Queensland | Carrara Indoor Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Ipswich Force* | Ipswich | Queensland | Llewellyn Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Logan Thunder* | Logan | Queensland | Cornubia Park Sports Centre | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Mackay Meteorettes/Mackay Meteors* | Mackay | Queensland | Mackay Basketball Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| North Gold Coast Seahawks | Gold Coast | Queensland | Runaway Bay Indoor Stadium | 2022 | 0 | N/A |
| Northside Wizards | Brisbane | Queensland | Northside Indoor Sports Centre | 2021 | 0 | N/A |
| RedCity Roar | Brisbane | Queensland | Paul Bancroft Centre | 2021 | 0 | N/A |
| Rockhampton Cyclones/Rockhampton Rockets* | Rockhampton | Queensland | Adani Arena Rockhampton | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| South West Metro Pirates* | Brisbane | Queensland | Hibiscus Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Southern Districts Spartans* | Brisbane | Queensland | Rowland Cowan Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Sunshine Coast Phoenix* | Sunshine Coast | Queensland | Maroochydore Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| Townsville Flames/Townsville Heat* | Townsville | Queensland | Townsville StarFM Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
| USC Rip City* | Sunshine Coast | Queensland | USC Stadium | 2020 | 0 | N/A |
*Teams that transferred from QBL.
List of Champions
| Team | Total Titles | Men's | Women's | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titles | Winning Seasons | Titles | Winning Seasons | |||
| Brisbane Spartans/Southern Districts Spartans | 17 | 5 | 1992, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2006 | 12 | 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2019 | |
| Brisbane Brewers/Brisbane Capitals | 10 | 2 | 2002, 2019 | 8 | 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002 | Won the women's inaugural title in 1986. |
| Cairns Dolphins/Cairns Marlins | 10 | 9 | 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2016 | 1 | 1994 | |
| Townsville Flames/Townsville Heat/Townsville Sunbirds/Townsville Suns | 10 | 5 | 1986, 1989, 2000, 2017, 2018 | 5 | 1993, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2022 | Won the men's inaugural title in 1986. |
| Mackay Meteorettes/Mackay Meteors | 8 | 4 | 2011, 2012, 2015, 2021 | 4 | 1987, 2012, 2013, 2014 | |
| Rockhampton Cyclones/Rockhampton Rockets | 7 | 5 | 1996, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 | 2 | 2015, 2016 | |
| Gladstone Port City Power | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2009, 2010, 2011 | ||
| Gold Coast Cougars/Gold Coast Rollers | 3 | 3 | 1987, 1988, 2022 | 0 | ||
| Toowoomba Mountaineers | 2 | 2 | 1990, 1991 | 0 | ||
| South West Metro Pirates | 1 | 1 | 2003 | 0 | ||
| Logan Thunder | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2021 | ||
References
- ^ Lilley, John (19 November 1993). "CBA becomes the 'big league' with Queensland's help". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "Ipswich prepares for QABL transformation". QT.com.au. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "NBL1 To Come To Queensland In 2020". NBL1.com.au. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ "NBL1 Expands To North And South Conferences". NBL1.com.au. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ "NBL1 Season Cancelled". NBL.com.au. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Darwin/ Basketball Northern Territory to make NBL1 a truly national competition". NBL1.com.au. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
External links
- Official website