Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

Australia's National Basketball League In Crisis After Townsville Crocodiles Fold

Basketball Australia "has rejected" Townsville’'s bid to withdraw from the National Basketball League claiming, among other specifications, "it has not given nine months’ notice as is legally required," according to Boti Nagy of NEWS LTD. BA CEO Kristina Keneally "jumped onto the front foot" Monday after Barrier Reef Basketball Pty Ltd., holders of the Crocodiles’ NBL license, "handed it back this morning, saying the 20-year-old franchise could not financially continue." Club Chair George Colbran said, "What that means effectively is that unless a new entity wishes to take up the license in the very near future, the Townsville Crocodiles will not be participating in the 2013-14 NBL competition after 20 years." Keneally said, "I am not accepting his license surrender. He has not complied with the licensing agreement requirements which state he has to prove they are insolvent, and if they want to surrender, they have to give us nine months’ notice." Keneally said that Townsville "had given no prior indication of its financial plight" which, it claimed Monday, had seen it lose A$2.5M ($2.6M) over the past six years. Of the Crocs’ revelations and decision to quit, potentially leaving the NBL with seven clubs, Keneally said, "It came completely out of the blue." The NBL must have its eight-team schedule finalized with its broadcast partners, Network Ten, four months from the '13-14 season tip off. The season "usually tips off in the first week of October giving BA and the NBL until the end of May to either revive the Crocodiles franchise or move forward on other possible options." A team in Brisbane and a second club out of Melbourne both "have been close to fruition." If Townsville "is not replaced, a seven-team NBL appears unlikely to attract sufficient corporate or fan support to continue" (NEWS LTD., 4/8).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2013/04/09/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NBL-Townsville-Crocodiles.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2013/04/09/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NBL-Townsville-Crocodiles.aspx

CLOSE