Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons logo
LeaguesNBL1 East
Founded1983
HistoryNewcastle Hunters
1983–2021
Newcastle Falcons
2022–present
ArenaNewcastle Basketball Stadium
Capacity2,200
LocationNewcastle, New South Wales
Team colorsRed, navy blue, white
     
PresidentKristy Crooks
Vice-president(s)Larry Davidson
General managerMatt Neason
Head coachM: Josh Morgan
W: Kristy Bultitude
OwnershipNewcastle Basketball
ChampionshipsMen:
ABA (1)
Waratah League (2)
Women:
Waratah League (3)
Conference titlesMen:
SEABL (1)
Websitenewcastlebasketball.com.au

Newcastle Falcons is a NBL1 East club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Newcastle Basketball, the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Falcons play their home games at Newcastle Basketball Stadium.

Club history

In 1983, Newcastle Basketball began fielding a men's team in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).[1] The Newcastle Hunters were SEABL South champions[2][3] and ABA National champions in 1986. They were ABA runners-up in 1987.[4]

In 1990, Newcastle Basketball entered a team in the inaugural SEABL women's competition.[1] The women's team was originally known as the Newcastle Scorpions.[5] Both the men's team and women's team left the SEABL following the 1998 season.[1]

In 2000, the Hunters men won the Basketball NSW Premier League.[6] The following year, the Premier Division was renamed the Waratah League, with the league joining the Australian Basketball Association (ABA).[7] The Hunters men were Waratah League runners-up in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2011.[7]

In 2016, the Hunters women were crowned Waratah League champions for the first time.[8] In 2018, the men won their first championship since 2000.[9] In 2019, the women won their second championship in four seasons.[10] The 2021 women's championship was shared by the Hunters and the Sutherland Sharks after the season was cut short in August due to lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

In late 2021, following the club's admission to the new NBL1 East competition replacing the Waratah League,[12] Newcastle Basketball surveyed the local community to gauge support for a potential rebranding of the club. The club was subsequently renamed the Newcastle Falcons (after the defunct national league NBL franchise of the same name) after 51% of the survey's respondents voted for the change of name.[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "SEABL Ladders History" (PDF). seabl.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2008.
  2. ↑ "PAST CHAMPIONS". seabl.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2002.
  3. ↑ "FORMER CHAMPIONS". seabl.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008.
  4. ↑ "ABA PREMIER AND RUNNERS-UP CLUBS". ababasketball.net.au. Archived from the original on 7 April 2001.
  5. ↑ "NAME OUR TEAM". Newcastle Basketball. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. ↑ Keeble, Brett (17 August 2018). "Newcastle Hunters aiming to do the double - winning both the men's and women's Waratah Basketball League grand finals". newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 "History". Waratah League. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "2016 MOLTEN WARATAH LEAGUE CHAMPIONS". Waratah League. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. ↑ Gardiner, James (8 March 2019). "Basketball: Hunters ready to be the hunted in Waratah League championship defence". newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. ↑ Keeble, Brett (18 August 2019). "Basketball: Hunters save best for last to win championship". newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "BASKETBALL NSW COMPETITIONS, HIGH-PERFORMANCE & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS UPDATE". bnsw.com.au. 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "NBL1 East teams unveiled". NBL1.com.au. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  13. ↑ Gardner, James (30 October 2021). "Newcastle basketball fans vote to resurrect Falcons". Newcastle Herald. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  14. ↑ "TAKING FLIGHT". Newcastle Basketball. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
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