United States Basketball League (2026)

Last updated
The United States Basketball League (USBL)
Current season, competition or edition:
Basketball current event.svg 2026 USBL season
USBLlogo.PNG
Sport Basketball
Founded2025;0 years ago (2025)
Ownerall teams
Motto"The League of Opportunity"
Countries United States
Continent North America
Official website usbl.net

The United States Basketball League (USBL) is a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985, and ceased operations in 2008. On November 6, 2025, it was announced that the league would be revived and rebooted in March 2026, comprising a mix of former Basketball League teams, as well as fresh teams from other leagues around the country. [1]

Contents

History

The original United States Basketball League was founded in December 1984 by Daniel T. Meisenheimer, from Connecticut. [2] [3] [4] The league management initially planned to schedule about 40 games during the summer, and started to look for new teams to join the newly formed USBL. [5] Former NBA referee Richie Powers was named the league's vice president and director of operations, while Earl Monroe was the commissioner. [6] Meisenheimer introduced a salary cap of $250,000 per team. [6] [3] The teams for the first season were the Connecticut Colonials from New Haven, Connecticut; the New Jersey Jammers from Jersey City, New Jersey; the Long Island Knights from Long Island, New York (owned by Meisenheimer himself); the Rhode Island Gulls from Warwick, Rhode Island; the Springfield Fame from Springfield, Massachusetts; the Westchester Golden Apples from Westchester, New York; and the Wildwood Aces from Wildwood, New Jersey. The league dissolved in 2008.

In the summer of 2025, owners of west coast teams from the Basketball League met in Las Vegas and decided to revive the United States Basketball League. According to Salem Capitals owner Jason Conrad, "The new league is called the United States Basketball League, which was actually one of the original feeder leagues for the NBA from the mid-'80s until 2008... We resurrected it. We retained all the rights to the URLs, history, and logos." [7]

Teams

Usa edcp location map.svg
Black pog.svg
Breaks
Black pog.svg
Phoenix
Black pog.svg
Black pog.svg
Black pog.svg
Black pog.svg
Seahawks
Yellow pog.svg
Majestics
Black pog.svg
Purple pog.svg
Legends
Yellow pog.svg
Sharks
Purple pog.svg
Super Hawks
Purple pog.svg
Bears
Purple pog.svg
Capitals
Yellow pog.svg
Blue Waves
class=notpageimage|
Base locations of USA teams in the USBL. Colors represent conference alignment as of the 2026 season.

Current teams

The USBL Basketball League teams
ConferenceTeamCityVenueCapacityFoundedFirst seasonHead coach
Eastern ConferenceBaltimore Rhythm Baltimore, Maryland TBA20252026Samir St. Clair
Capital Seahawks Bowie, Maryland Bowie State University 2,200 [8] 20242026Jasper Williams
Frederick Flying Cows Frederick, Maryland Woodsboro Bank Arena 1,600 [9] 20232026Dan Prete
Jersey Shore Breaks Lincroft, New Jersey Brick Memorial High School
Brookdale Community College 		540 [10]
2,000 [11] 		20242026Pepe Manso
New York Phoenix Schenectady, New York Armory Studios NY 1,800 [12] 20242026Trevis Wyche
Reading Rebels Reading, Pennsylvania Alvernia University 1,200 [13] 20212026Joe Linderman
Virginia Valley Vipers Purcellville, Virginia Patrick Henry College 1,200 [14] 20222026 Ed Corporal
Western Conference
Bakersfield Majestics Bakersfield, California Bakersfield High School 20212026
Long Beach Blue Waves Long Beach, California Santiago High School 2,570 [15] 20212026
Las Vegas Stars Las Vegas, Nevada 20072026 Cliff Levingston
Lilac City Legends Spokane, Washington TBA20252026
Salem Capitals Salem, Oregon Salem Armory Auditorium 3,200 [16] 20202026Anthony Searcy
Seattle Super Hawks Seattle, Washington Seattle Pacific University 3,300 [17] 20222023Terry Jones
San Diego Sharks San Diego, California Mira Mesa High School 2,502 [18] 20222026Brandon Cheeks
Vancouver Bears Vancouver, Washington Hudson's Bay High School 4,400 [19] 20212022Curtis Smith

Future teams

The USBL Basketball League teams
TeamCityArenaCapacityFoundedJoinedHead coach
Wenatchee Bighorns Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee Valley College [20] 20222027Matt Riley

References

  1. ↑ "United States Basketball League Announces Rebirth". USBL. November 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Daniel T. Meisenheimer". twst.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Summer baskets loop set". New York Daily News . December 21, 1984. p. 311.
  4. ↑ "New Pro Basketball League Will Have Old Pros' Touch". Philadelphia Daily News . January 9, 1985. p. 76.
  5. ↑ "Hoop team a name with which to conjure". New York Daily News. February 28, 1985. p. 88.
  6. 1 2 Goldaper, Sam (June 25, 1985). "N.B.A. Hopfuls Find a Showcase". The New York Times . Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  7. ↑ Hansen, Christian (November 12, 2025). "Salem Capitals Help Revive Historic USBL, Ushering in New Era for Oregon Basketball". Salem Business Journal. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Facilities". Bowie State University Athletics. December 12, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Facilities". Hood College. November 6, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Brick Memorial HS Show" (PDF). Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Robert J. Collins Arena". Brookdale Community College -. July 9, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  12. ↑ MacAdam, Mike (November 6, 2025). "New York Phoenix Changing Leagues without Albany Patroons". The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Basketball Facility". Alvernia University Athletics. November 30, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Barbara Hodel Center Gymnasium" (PDF). Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Rent Gym in Garden Grove". Facilitron. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ Lynn, Capi (July 15, 2015). "When Salem first rocked: Show to celebrate anniversary of promoter's first show". Statesman Journal. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Royal Brougham Pavilion". SPU Athletics. February 20, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Rent Gym in San Diego". Facilitron. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  19. ↑ Dake, Lauren (March 18, 2016). "Vancouver preps for Bernie Sanders visit". The Columbian. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Town Toyota Center". Venue Coalition. June 12, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.