Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | June 2014 |
First season | 2015 |
No. of teams | 21 |
Country | United States |
Continent | FIBA Americas (Americas) |
Most recent champion(s) | Carolina Thunder (South) Hartford Shockers (Mid Atlantic) (2023) |
Most titles | Six (PrimeTime Players) |
Official website | EastCoastBasketballLeague.org |
East Coast Basketball League (ECBL) is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in March 2015. The league is centered in the Carolinas with teams also in Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Five teams (Carolina Gladiators, Fayetteville Crossover, PrimeTime Players, Queen City Express, South Carolina All-Stars) [1] in the ECBL previously played in the Tobacco Road Basketball League. The teams broke away from the TRBL due to changes in the league format. [2]
On August 16, 2014, the ECBL announced the addition of the Fort Gordon Eagles. A military team, the Eagles also compete in the Southeast Military Athletics Conference (SEMAC) from October to February.
Former American Basketball Association team Savannah Storm were admitted to enter the ECBL for Season 1. They would be joined by Columbia Crusaders, Gastonia Crowns and High Point Hawks to round out the 10-team circuit.
The first-ever ECBL Championship was won by PrimeTime Players, 130–113 over the Fayetteville Crossover. The final was played on June 27, 2015, in Fort Mill, South Carolina and streamed live online. Former Catawba College forward Donald Rutherford [3] scored 34 points while grabbing 16 rebounds for PrimeTime and was named game MVP.
Four new teams joined the ECBL for the 2016 season: expansion teams Carolina MPact, Petersburg Revolution, RDU Raptors and Winston-Salem Certified (formerly of the TRBL).
Expansion into Charlotte was announced on April 8, 2016, with the addition of Charlotte Golden Bulls. [4]
At the August 2016 AGM, league board of directors unanimously accepted the expansion application of the Florence Wildcats for 2017. [5] Two teams also announced name changes: Peterburg Cavaliers (formerly Revolution) and North Carolina Coyotes (formerly RDU Raptors).
League owners approved the expansion application of the Carolina Thunder for 2017. The Thunder began as a travel team playing a league schedule on the road. A second travel team, Hickory Hoyas, were added to the schedule before the season opener.
Prior to the 2021 season the league added seven teams to form the new Mid-Atlantic Conference. Teams included Fredericksburg Grizzlies, Hub City Hogs, Philly Cannons, Philly Raiders, Plaistow Shockers, Red Rose Thunder and Western Mass Zombies.
Mid-Atlantic Conference | City | Arena | Founded | First ECBL season |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hartford Shockers | Hartford, Connecticut | East Catholic High School | 2019 | 2021 |
Philly Raiders | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Germantown Academy | 2019 | 2021 |
Northern Conference | City | Arena | Founded | First ECBL season |
Carolina Chosen Lions | Rocky Mount, North Carolina | Rocky Mount Prep | 2018 | 2019 |
Fayetteville Panthers | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Highland Presbyterian Church Rec Center | 2018 | 2019 |
Hickory Hoyas | Hickory, North Carolina | Newton Conover Middle School | 2016 | 2017 |
North Carolina Capitals | Raleigh, North Carolina | Garner Road Community Center | 2020 | 2021 |
Petersburg Cavaliers | Petersburg, Virginia | Richard Bland College | 2015 | 2016 |
Rowan County Bulls | Cleveland, North Carolina | Fifteen Sports Athletic Center | 2017 | 2018 |
Winston-Salem Wolves | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Forsyth Country Day Childress Center | 2018 | 2019 |
Southern Conference | City | Arena | Founded | First ECBL season |
Carolina Crusaders | Columbia, South Carolina | Glenforest School | 2014 | 2015 |
Carolina Thunder | Hartsville, South Carolina | Coach D.B. Thomas Sports Center | 2015 | 2017 |
Charlotte Tribe | Charlotte, North Carolina | Mountain Island Fitness | 2017 | 2018 |
Garden City Magic | Augusta, Georgia | Episcopal Day School | 2019 | 2021 |
Gastonia Snipers | Gastonia, North Carolina | Fort Mill Community Center | 2018 | 2019 |
PrimeTime Players | Fort Mill, South Carolina | Legion Collegiate Academy | 1991 | 2015 |
South Carolina Upstate Redhawks | Greenville, South Carolina | Greenville First Baptist | 2014 | 2015 |
Season | Champion | Runner-up | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | PrimeTime Players | Fayetteville Crossover | 130-113 [6] [7] |
2016 | PrimeTime Players | Fayetteville Crossover | 119-100 |
2017 | PrimeTime Players | Carolina Thunder | 123-105 |
2018 | PrimeTime Players | Hickory Hoyas | 134-118 |
2019 | PrimeTime Players | Winston-Salem Wolves | 103-99 |
2020 | none (season suspended due to COVID-19) | --- | --- |
2021: South 2021: Mid-Atlantic | PrimeTime Players Western Mass Zombies | North Carolina Coyotes Hub City Hogs | 130-128 122-117 (OT) |
2022: South 2022: Mid-Atlantic | Petersburg Cavaliers Hartford Shockers | Carolina Crusaders Hub City Hogs | 134-124 125-114 |
|- |2023: South 2023: Mid-Atlantic |Carolina ThunderHartford Shockers |Petersburg Cavaliers The DC Heat |126-102 134-120 |}
Winners of the ECBL Mid-Atlantic and ECBL South.
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Result | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | PrimeTime Players | Western Mass Zombies | 133-129 [8] | Combine Academy, Lincolnton, North Carolina |
2022 | Hartford Shockers | Petersburg Cavaliers | 130-110 | Hartford, CT |
Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911.
Gastonia is the most populous city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 in the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2010. Gastonia is the 13th-most populous city in North Carolina. It is part of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC Combined Statistical Area.
Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 census, the population of the town was 24,521. Some businesses and residents in the Indian Land community of neighboring Lancaster County share a Fort Mill mailing address, but the official town boundary extends only within York County.
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, the region is home to three major research universities: North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, respectively. The "Triangle" name originated in the 1950s with the creation of Research Triangle Park located between the three anchor cities, which is the largest research park in the United States and home to numerous high tech companies.
Bobby Lutz is an American basketball coach. He is currently an Associate AD for the University of Mississippi Rebels men's basketball team. From 2016 to 2017, he was an assistant coach of the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League. He previously was an associate head coach at North Carolina State University Wolfpack men's basketball team after being an assistant coach there. Lutz was also head coach of the Charlotte 49ers basketball team from 1998 to 2010.
American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
Athletes and sports teams from North Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World and Olympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home to NASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has many minor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.
The Continental Basketball League (CBL) was a men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2010. The league was headquartered in Florida.
The C-Port Trojans are a member of the East Coast Basketball League (ECBL). The Trojans previously competed in the American Basketball Association during 2010–11 season.
The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, containing the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, Concord, Huntersville, and Rock Hill as well as the large suburban area in the counties surrounding Mecklenburg County, which is at the center of the metro area. Located in the Piedmont, it is the largest metropolitan area in the Carolinas, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States. The Charlotte metropolitan area is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.
The Tobacco Road Basketball League (TRBL) was a professional men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2012. The league is centered in the Carolinas.
The PrimeTime Players are a minor league professional basketball team based in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The PrimeTime Players have played independently in the Carolinas since 1991, competing in tournaments and pro-am leagues. The team has competed in The Basketball Tournament which is aired annually on ESPN networks against some of the best professionals in the world.
The Women's Basketball Development Association (WBDA) is a professional development female basketball league.
Kaleb Tarczewski is an American professional basketball player for Gunma Crane Thunders of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for Arizona. He is a 2.13 m (7'0") tall center.
The North American Basketball League (NABL) was an American minor professional basketball league organization founded in 2016.
The American Arena League (AAL) is a dormant professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL only claimed the APF history after the former Can-Am founder left the league. Teams from both leagues, new teams, and later teams from Supreme Indoor Football and National Arena League constituted the new league for its inaugural season.
The Winston-Salem Wolves are a professional minor league basketball franchise based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The team was founded in December, 2018.