Sports stats



International Basketball League Is Now Coast-To-Coast; Still Travel Efficient

February 11, 2010 - International Basketball League (IBL) News Release


Portland, Oregon- With the addition of the Albany, New York Legends, The International Basketball League is now a coast-to- coast basketball league. Previously, the IBL has had a strong presence in the Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest United States, along with teams from Canada, China, and Japan. Teams have been organized in 'clusters' allowing for a schedule that maximizes travel efficiencies but that still has national- and international - appeal for fans.

About the IBL: The International Basketball League is an established sixth year league. The league's season goes from late April through the first week in July. In 2007, 102 players who played in the IBL went on to land jobs playing professionally overseas. This 2007 season established the IBL as the league to play in to get or maintain an overseas job. Twenty-one former NBA players have played in the IBL including Tim Hardaway, Dennis Rodman, and Shawn Kemp. See IBL's official website, www.iblhoopsonline.com, for more info and video on the league.

About the IBL one-flight guarantee: Organizing teams in regional clusters has enabled the IBL to offer owners an unprecedented 'one flight guarantee.' IBL teams can play a variety of opponents from all over the country- and indeed the world- but owners only fly one time. This includes teams from Asia which can play a complete 20 game American schedule with just one flight to the U.S. Teams from one cluster travel to another cluster, while teams from a different cluster will visit that cluster. The result is a schedule where IBL teams are able to play nearly every other team in a 20 game season, without the expensive travel costs that have consistently driven other minor leagues out of business within a few years. The Albany Legends expansion franchise reflects the ability for the IBL to expand into new regions with these unique travel efficiencies.

About Albany Legends ownership: Steve Miller and Robert Hord Jr. are the two primary owners of the Legends franchise. Miller is a lifelong resident of Albany and the capital region and is a 1984 graduate from Union College in Schenectady, NY with a degree in electrical engineering. Hord resides in Clifton Park, New York has a Masters degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He is currently the President and CEO of the R Harrison LLC consulting firm. Together, Miller and Hord have a long tradition of supporting minor league sports and giving back to the region. The pair worked with the Sports Foundation to bring over 2,200 kids from deserving organizations to minor league sports last year alone.

About Albany Legends home venue: The Washington Avenue Armory, located at 195 Washington Avenue in downtown Albany, will serve as the home venue for the Albany Legends. The arena is one of the most historic venues for minor league basketball, with hundreds of NBA players having come through the Armory to play against the former Albany Patroons over the years. Noteworthy players such as Mario Elie, Vincent Askew, and Scottie Brooks have played in the venue, and NBA head coaching legends such as Phil Jackson, Bill Musselman, and George Karl have all parlayed experiences at the Armory to later successes.

• Discuss this story on the International Basketball League message board...

International Basketball League Stories from February 11, 2010


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central