NBL1 North

NBL1 North
Most recent season or competition:
2024 NBL1 season
FormerlyQueensland State Basketball League
1986–1993
CBA North
1994–1998
ABA North
1999–2001
Queensland Australian Basketball League
2002–2008
Queensland Basketball League
2009–2019
SportBasketball
Founded1986
First season1986
No. of teamsM: 12
W: 12
CountryAustralia
ContinentFIBA Oceania (Oceania)
Most recent
champion(s)		M: Mackay Meteors (5th title)
W: Rockhampton Cyclones (3rd title)
Most titlesM: Cairns Marlins (9 titles)
W: Southern Districts Spartans (12 titles)
Official websiteNBL1.com.au/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 expanded into the Northern Territory with the addition of a club from Darwin.

History

The league was formed in 1986 as the Queensland State Basketball League.[1] In 1994, the league joined the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) to become the competition's North conference.[2] The CBA was restructured as the Australian Basketball Association (ABA) in 1999.[3]

In 2002, the league became known as the Queensland Australian Basketball League (QABL).[4][5] Around this time, the QABL 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. 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.[6] The ABA was abandoned following the 2008 season, resulting in the QBL becoming an independent league again.[7]

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.[8] On 15 January 2020, the QBL was officially renamed NBL1 North and became the north conference of NBL1.[9] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled.[10]

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.[11] Following the 2024 season, the Salties withdrew from the NBL1 North after three seasons due to financial difficulties.[12]

Current clubs

Club City State Arena Joined NBL1 NBL1 National Championships Most recent
Brisbane Capitals* Brisbane Queensland Queensland Auchenflower Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Cairns Dolphins/Cairns Marlins* Cairns Queensland Queensland Early Settler Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Gold Coast Rollers* Gold Coast Queensland Queensland Carrara Indoor Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Ipswich Force* Ipswich Queensland Queensland Llewellyn Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Logan Thunder* Logan Queensland Queensland Cornubia Park Sports Centre 2020 0 N/A
Mackay Meteorettes/Mackay Meteors* Mackay Queensland Queensland Mackay Basketball Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Northside Wizards Brisbane Queensland Queensland Northside Indoor Sports Centre 2021 0 N/A
Rockhampton Cyclones/Rockhampton Rockets* Rockhampton Queensland Queensland Adani Arena Rockhampton 2020 0 N/A
South West Metro Pirates* Brisbane Queensland Queensland Hibiscus Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Southern Districts Spartans* Brisbane Queensland Queensland Rowland Cowan Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Sunshine Coast Phoenix* Sunshine Coast Queensland Queensland Maroochydore Stadium 2020 0 N/A
Townsville Flames/Townsville Heat* Townsville Queensland Queensland Townsville StarFM Stadium 2020 0 N/A

*Teams that transferred from QBL.

List of Champions

Main article: List of NBL1 North 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 9 5 2011, 2012, 2015, 2021, 2024 4 1987, 2012, 2013, 2014
Rockhampton Cyclones/Rockhampton Rockets 8 5 1996, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 3 2015, 2016, 2024
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
Northside Wizards 1 0 1 2023
Ipswich Force 1 1 2023 0

References

  1. ^ "QBL State Champions & Award Winners". qbl.basketballqld.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ^ Lilley, John (19 November 1993). "CBA becomes the 'big league' with Queensland's help". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 15 June 2017 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "Basketball Australia Annual Report 1998" (PDF). Basketball Australia. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Annual Report 2001" (PDF). Basketball Australia. p. 25 (27). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Annual Report 2002" (PDF). Basketball Australia. p. 40 (42). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Ipswich prepares for QABL transformation". QT.com.au. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. ^ "ACC National Finals 2009 and onwards". Basketball Queensland. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  8. ^ "NBL1 To Come To Queensland In 2020". NBL1.com.au. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  9. ^ "NBL1 Expands To North And South Conferences". NBL1.com.au. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  10. ^ "NBL1 Season Cancelled". NBL.com.au. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Darwin/ Basketball Northern Territory to make NBL1 a truly national competition". NBL1.com.au. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  12. ^ Wood, David (20 September 2024). "Darwin Salties pull out of Queensland league citing costs". NT Independent. Retrieved 22 September 2024.