ABA league meeting concludes
April 15, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release
Indianapolis, IN. The American Basketball Association (ABA) held its Annual Spring League Meeting in Indianapolis on Thursday and Friday, April 12 & 13 at the Airport Radisson Hotel. With over 60 current and expansion teams represented, the meeting was deemed "a huge success" by ABA CEO Joe Newman. "I believe it was the best meeting yet because the owners participated in an open forum, provided extraordinary input and established a variety of new standards and requirements designed to improve the league and to eliminate the problems of the past. We have a talented ownership group with tremendous experience in sports, business, entertainment and other disciplines; the sharing of knowledge is critical to the success of the ABA - and this meeting was electric. I believe everyone left with a very good feeling about the future of the league." Other subjects included:
* The introduction of ABA Apparel, LLC., a joint venture between the ABA and International Apparel Group, Inc. to design, manufacture and distribute ABA branded apparel. IAG principals Janon Costley and Orande Gadsden introduced new designs, merchandise and programs to the owners.
* The introduction of the new Spalding red, white and blue basketballs, the Official Balls of the ABA. Representatives from Spalding showed a variety of new product including replica balls, mini-balls, Krunk balls and other designs that are now available via the ABA website (www.abalive.com). Spalding also showed the new ABA ball that will be featured in the upcoming Will Ferrell movie, "Semi-Pro."
* The introduction of ABA Media, a new division that will include over-the-air TV, webcasting, podcasting, text messaging, and radio broadcasting. According to Paul Riley, ABA VP of Business Development, "Our objective is to bring the excitement of ABA basketball to fans around the world in a variety of ways and we will be announcing several new initiatives shortly. The interest in the ABA is phenomenal."
Also included in the meeting was a discussion of The Keys to Success, those things necessary to operate a successful team both on and off the court. Brad Hester, ABA VP of Team Operations, reviewed the problems with scheduling, statistics and travel this past season and presented new guidelines for the upcoming season. Press and community relations, web site development, internship programs, marketing and ticket sales, sponsorships, tryout camps and ABA rules were also covered in detail. "All teams seem to be on the same page this season; they are all working together to insure that things go smoothly and are making extraordinary progress - and it's only April," stated Hester. "This should be a great season."
2006-2007 Awards were presented to the following:
League Champion Vermont Frost Heaves
League Runner-Up Texas Tycoons
Executive of the Year Felix Krupczynski, Jacksonville Jam
GM of the Year Mike Healey, Vermont Frost Heaves
Coach of the Year Will Voigt, Vermont Frost Heaves
Expansion Team of the Year Vermont Frost Heaves
Lifetime Achievement Award Tom Chichester, ABA Director of Officials
Special Recognition Award Tom McGinn, Quad City Riverhawks
Special Recognition Award Ian McCarthy, Cape Cod Frenzy
Special Recognition Award Burrel Lee III, Maywood Buzz
Special Recognition Award Reggie Davis, Sacramento Heatwave
Special Recognition Award Quentin & Akilah Townsend, The Atlanta Vision
Special Recognition Award Tony Dominguez, Bellingham Slam
Community Service Award Modie Cox, Buffalo Silverbacks.
For more information, visit www.abalive.com.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
American Basketball Association Stories from April 15, 2007
- Cape Cod's Sanders premiers in PBA - Cape Cod Frenzy
- ABA league meeting concludes - ABA
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
