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AtL Atlantic League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
September 25, 2023 - Atlantic League (AtL)


BASEBALL

Atlantic League: After completing its inaugural 2023 season, the Atlantic League's Spire City Ghost Hounds (Frederick, MD) volunteered to sit out the 2024 season to allow the league to operate with an even number of ten teams. The league is adding an 11th team called the Hagerstown (MD) Flying Boxcars in 2024 and does not want to operate with an uneven number of teams. The Ghost Hounds are supposed to return in 2025 when the Atlantic League expands to 12 teams. The ownership of the Ghost Hounds also owns the Frederick Keys of the summer-collegiate Major League Draft League and the two teams shared Harry Grove Stadium in 2023. The Keys will return in 2024. The Ghost Hounds started the 2023 season as an unnamed team and wore uniforms with question marks until the team's name was announced in June.

Frontier League: The independent Frontier League announced the addition of a yet-to-be-named New England team to be based in Brockton (MA) starting with the 2024 season. This team will be added to the East Division and replace the Empire State Greys travel-only team, which was operated by the independent developmental Empire State League and filled in as the league's 16th team for the past two seasons. A former team called the Brockton Rox played ten seasons (2002-11) in three different independent pro leagues before becoming a summer-collegiate team in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League starting with the 2012 season. The owner of the Brockton Rox was awarded the new Frontier League team and both teams will share the local Campanelli Stadium.

Southern Winter League: The new professional developmental SWL started its inaugural 2023 season this week with four teams each playing a ten-game schedule through September at the Nuevo Estadio de Beisbol in San Luis Rio Colorado (Sonora, Mexico). The SWL teams are called the Yellow Sox, Maples, Samurai, and the SLRC Datileros.

Major League Baseball: Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays announced plans for a new stadium to be built on the site of its current stadium in St. Petersburg. With this news and the Oakland A's applying for relocation to Las Vegas, serious discussions on expansion to 32 teams could move forward. Salt Lake City, Portland (OR), Nashville, Montreal, and Charlotte have been mentioned as expansion candidates.

BASKETBALL

Professional Basketball Association: As the semi-pro PBA completes its 2023 Summer Season this weekend, the league recently announced the 2023-24 Winter Season will have teams playing 16 games from November 4, 2023, through March 10, 2024.

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced teams called the Rochester (NY) Kingz and the Western Oklahoma Bulls (Elk City) have been added for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

FOOTBALL

National Arena League: The NAL announced the Idaho Horsemen (Nampa) team from the indoor football league known as the American West Football Conference (AWFC) has joined the NAL for the 2024 season. The ownership of the Horsemen organized the AWFC when the league started play in 2019. The AWFC was down to only three teams for its 2023 season and those teams had to fill their schedules with games against non-league teams. Idaho becomes the fifth team the NAL has added for 2024.

United States Football League: The USFL and XFL are reported to be in discussions about a potential merger ahead of the 2024 season, possibly under a new name. The eight-team USFL recently completed its second season, which ran from mid-April to early July, with two teams each based in four different hub cities after playing all games at one location (Birmingham) in the inaugural 2022 season. The reborn eight-team XFL played its inaugural 2023 season from mid-February to mid-May with all teams training in Arlington (TX) during the week and traveling to individual markets for scheduled games. It is uncertain how many teams a merged league would have but both leagues had teams based in Houston and several USFL teams did not yet have home stadiums. The leagues will also have to come to an agreement on rules, TV coverage, and the timing of the schedule.

HOCKEY

Professional Women's Hockey League: The new PWHL held a player draft this week to stock the six teams that will be part of the inaugural season starting in January 2024. The yet-to-be-named teams will be based in New York, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, and Minnesota.

National Collegiate Development Conference: The junior-level United States Premier Hockey League's Tier-II NCDC started its 2023-24 season this week with 18 teams aligned in 3 six-team divisions. The league had 14 teams aligned in 2 divisions last season, but the North Division's Boston Advantage and New Hampshire Junior Monarchs (Hooksett) did not return so the Utica (NY) Junior Comets were moved from the South to the North. The six-team North and South divisions have since been renamed the New England Division and Atlantic Division, respectively. A new Mountain Division comprised of six teams that were promoted from the 2022-23 Tier-III USPHL Premier Conference was added. The Mountain Division teams include the Idaho Falls (ID) Spuds, Ogden (UT) Mustangs, Provo (UT) Predators, Pueblo (CO) Bulls, Utah Outliers (West Valley), and Rock Springs (WY) Grizzlies (formerly the Prospectors).

Western Hockey League: The major-junior WHL, which is one of three leagues in the Canadian Hockey League, started its 2023-24 season this weekend and again has 22 teams. One change from last season was the sale and relocation of the Winnipeg ICE to become the Wenatchee (WA) Wild for the 2023-24 season. The team has moved from the Eastern Conference East Division to the Western Conference U.S. Division. The 2023-24 alignment features an 11-team Western Conference with a six-team U.S. Division and a five-team British Columbia Division, and an Eastern Conference with a six-team Central Division and a five-team East Division.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: The major-junior QMJHL, which is one of three leagues in the Canadian Hockey League, started its 2023-24 season this weekend with the same 18 teams as last season. Teams are again aligned in an Eastern Conference with a four-team East Division and a six-team Maritimes Division, and a Western Conference with a four-team Central Division and a four-team West Division.

Manitoba Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A MJHL, which is one of nine leagues in the Canadian Junior Hockey League, started its 2023-24 season this weekend with the same 13 teams as last season and again aligned in a seven-team East Division and a six-team West Division.

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A SJHL, which is one of nine leagues in the Canadian Junior Hockey League, started its 2023-24 season this week with the same 12 teams as last season aligned in four-team divisions called the Sherwood, Viterra, and Nutrien (formerly the Global Ag Risk Solutions).

Superior-International Junior Hockey League: The Junior-A SIJHL, which is one of nine leagues in the Canadian Junior Hockey League, started its 2023-24 season this weekend with eight teams-one in Wisconsin and seven in western Ontario-aligned in a single-table format. The league has grown from seven teams with the addition of the new Ontario-based Kenora Devil's Gap Islanders team, which was originally announced as the Kenora Islanders.

United States Hockey League: The Midwest-based Tier-I junior-level USHL, which is the highest-level junior hockey league in the United States, started its 2023-24 season schedule this week with the same 16 teams from last season and again aligned in eight-team Eastern and Western conferences.

SOCCER

National Women's Soccer League: The professional NWSL announced an expansion franchise has been awarded to an ownership group in Boston. The yet-to-be named Boston team will be the league's 15th team and it is expected to start play in the 2026 season. The 12-team NWSL previously announced the Utah Royals FC (Salt Lake City) and the Bay FC (San Francisco Bay Area) will be added for the 2024 season, and a 16th team is also expected to be added for the 2026 season. The NWSL had a previous team called the Boston Breakers that played in the league's first five seasons (2013-17) before folding.

National Indoor Soccer League: After two seasons (2021-23) in the league, the NISL's Columbus (GA) Rapids team has come under new ownership and will remain in Columbus as the Foundry FC starting with the 2024 season. The NISL, whose teams operate with both a men's team and a women's team, had five members last season. Columbus and the other four teams from last season will return and the league has added new teams called the Albany (GA) Aces and Magic City SC (Birmingham). The league still plans to add an eighth team for the 2024 season with teams split into four-team divisions.

Major Arena Soccer League 2: The MASL2, which is the second-division developmental league to the Major Arena Soccer League, announced its 2023-24 season will feature 19 teams aligned in a four-team East, a four-team North, a five-team Midwest, and a six-team West. All 15 teams will return from last season and join 4 new teams called the United Elite Krajisnik FC (Utica, NY), Baltimore Arsenal, St. Louis Ambush 2, and the Atletico Orlando. The official 2023-24 schedule is still to be announced.

OTHER

TGL Golf (The Golf League): The new indoor TGL Golf league, which will play all matches at a 2,000-seat custom-built virtual indoor golf course simulator in Palm Beach (FL), is organizing for six teams to participate in an inaugural season to start in January 2024. Each team will consist of three PGA players. Teams will participate in 15 televised two-hour Monday night events followed by playoffs. As of now, ownership groups in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Boston have been announced for four of the six proposed teams.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking the changes in the sports world's leagues, teams, and nicknames since April 2007.

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