The National Women's Basketball League , often abbreviated to the NWBL , was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States . The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The league held its season during the off-season of the WNBA . During the WNBA off-season, some WNBA players would play in the NWBL. The league ceased operations in 2007.
5-398: NWBL may refer to: National Women's Basketball League , United States National Wheelchair Basketball League (Australia) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title NWBL . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
10-689: The Fall of 1997 to recruit players and teams. Although the recruitment campaign was not without its problems (including the death of Nick Johnson, co-founder of the marketing firm behind the league), the NWBL enrolled four teams by November and held its first championship series in December 1997. The first four teams enrolled were the San Diego Waves (considered to be the first NWBL team), the Columbus Lady Blazers,
15-694: The NWBL was founded to govern a competitive amateur league for women. The NWBL was founded in 1997, in the shadow of both the ABL and the WNBA. The league is considered to be the brainchild of Patrick Alexander and Kevin Szotkowski, who saw the rapid growth of women's athletics of the time and decided to go into the business of promoting women athletes. With the assistance of former college basketball players and NWBL co-founders Jolynn Schneider and Jeanine Michealsen, Alexander and Szotkowski launched an aggressive marketing campaign in
20-952: The Washington DC Defenders and the Long Beach Lightning. By the end of 2000, the league grew to encompass 600 players in 15 states and 26 cities. The 2001 season was the first season for the NWBL Pro League, which now serves as the primary organization for the NWBL. The first four teams in the newly formed league were the Atlanta Justice , the Birmingham Power , the Mobile Majesty and the Kansas City Legacy . The league managed to finish its first season in April 2001 when
25-453: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NWBL&oldid=933023500 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages National Women%27s Basketball League In contrast to the ABL , WBA , and the WNBA before it,
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