2020 NBL1 season

The 2020 NBL1 season was due to be the second season of NBL1, and the first season utilising the conference system after the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) and Premier League (South Australia) joined the league during the off-season.[1][2] The season was scheduled to begin on March 14 for the Central Conference, April 18 for the South Conference and April 24 for the North Conference, however the COVID-19 pandemic forced the start of the season to be delayed, and later cancelled.[3][4][5]

2020 NBL1 season
League	NBL1
Sport	Basketball
Duration	Cancelled Original dates: 14 March – 9 August 2020 (Regular season) 7 – 30 August 2020 (Finals)
Number of games	0
Number of teams	18 (South Conference) 13 (North Conference) 10 (Central Conference)

Background

After a successful first season, the NBL1 announced in October 2019 that it would be expanding into Queensland for the 2020 season.[6] In January 2020, NBL1 expanded with the establishment of North and South conferences for the 2020 season. After a landmark agreement with Basketball Queensland, NBL1 North replaced the Queensland Basketball League (QBL). As a result, the 2019 NBL1 teams formed the new South Conference.[7] The following month, NBL1 expanded into South Australia with an identical agreement with Basketball South Australia for NBL1 Central to replace the Premier League.[8]

After the National Basketball League (NBL) was forced to close its doors for their Grand Final series and later cancel games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBL1 were forced to delay the start of the season.[4]

On 24 March 2020, it was announced that the season would be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

Clubs

South Conference Clubs

Club	City	State	Arena	Joined NBL1 in	NBL1 Championships	Last Championship
Albury Wodonga Bandits	Albury	New South Wales	Lauren Jackson Sports Centre	2019	0	N/A
Ballarat Rush (Women) Ballarat Miners (Men)	Ballarat	Victoria	MARS Minerdome	2019	0	N/A
Bendigo Braves	Bendigo	Victoria	Bendigo Stadium	2019	0	N/A
Dandenong Rangers	Melbourne	Victoria	Dandenong Stadium	2019	0	N/A
Diamond Valley Eagles	Melbourne	Victoria	Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre	2019	0	N/A
Eltham Wildcats	Melbourne	Victoria	Eltham High School	2019	0	N/A
Frankston Blues	Melbourne	Victoria	Frankston Stadium	2019	0	N/A
Geelong Supercats	Geelong	Victoria	Geelong Arena	2019	0	N/A
Hobart Chargers	Hobart	Tasmania	Derwent Entertainment Centre	2020	0	N/A
Kilsyth Cobras	Melbourne	Victoria	Kilsyth Sports Centre	2019	1	2019; 1 year ago
Knox Raiders	Melbourne	Victoria	State Basketball Centre	2019	0	N/A
Launceston Tornadoes (Women)	Launceston	Tasmania	Elphin Sports Centre	2019	0	N/A
Melbourne Tigers	Melbourne	Victoria	Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre	2019	0	N/A
Mount Gambier Pioneers	Mount Gambier	South Australia	Bern Bruning Stadium	2020	0	N/A
North-West Tasmania Thunder (Men)	Ulverstone	Tasmania	Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre	2019	0	N/A
Nunawading Spectres	Melbourne	Victoria	Nunawading Basketball Centre	2019	1	2019; 1 year ago
Ringwood Hawks	Melbourne	Victoria	The Rings	2019	0	N/A
Sandringham Sabres	Melbourne	Victoria	Nunn Media Basketball Centre	2019	0	N/A
Waverley Falcons	Melbourne	Victoria	Waverley Basketball Centre	2019	0	N/A

North Conference Clubs

Club	City	State	Arena	Joined NBL1 in
Brisbane Capitals	Brisbane	Queensland	Auchenflower Stadium	2020
Cairns Dolphins (Women) Cairns Marlins (Men)	Cairns	Queensland	Early Settler Stadium	2020
Gold Coast Rollers	Gold Coast	Queensland	Carrara Indoor Stadium	2020
Ipswich Force	Ipswich	Queensland	Llewellyn Stadium	2020
Logan Thunder	Logan	Queensland	Cornubia Park Sports Stadium	2020
Mackay Meteorettes (Women) Mackay Meteors (Men)	Mackay	Queensland	McDonald's Mackay Stadium	2020
Rockhampton Cyclones (Women) Rockhampton Rockets (Men)	Rockhampton	Queensland	Adani Arena Rockhampton	2020
Southern Districts Spartans	Brisbane	Queensland	Rowland Cowan Stadium	2020
South West Metro Pirates	Brisbane	Queensland	Hibiscus Stadium	2020
Sunshine Coast Phoenix	Sunshine Coast	Queensland	Maroochydore Stadium	2020
Toowoomba Mountaineers	Toowoomba	Queensland	Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre	2020
Townsville Flames (Women) Townsville Heat (Men)	Townsville	Queensland	Townsville StarFM Stadium	2020
USC Rip City	Sunshine Coast	Queensland	USC Sports Stadium	2020

Central Conference Clubs

Club	City	State	Arena	Joined NBL1 in
Central Districts Lions	Adelaide	South Australia	STARplex	2020
Eastern Mavericks	Mount Barker	South Australia	St Francis de Sales Community Sports Centre	2020
Forestville Eagles	Adelaide	South Australia	Wayville Sports Centre	2020
North Adelaide Rockets	Adelaide	South Australia	The Lights Community and Sports Centre	2020
Norwood Flames	Adelaide	South Australia	The ARC	2020
South Adelaide Panthers	Adelaide	South Australia	Marion Basketball Centre	2020
Southern Tigers	Adelaide	South Australia	Morphett Vale Stadium	2020
Sturt Sabres	Adelaide	South Australia	Springbank Sports Centre	2020
West Adelaide Bearcats	Adelaide	South Australia	Port Adelaide Recreation Centre	2020
Woodville Warriors	Adelaide	South Australia	St Clair Recreation Centre	2020

References

1. "NBL1 Expands To North And South Conference | NBL1". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
2. "NBL1 Central To Tip Off In 2020 | NBL1". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
3. Fixtures
4. "NBL1 Season - COVID-19 | NBL1". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
5. "NBL1 2020 season completely shutdown' leaving Tasmania's three clubs out in the cold". www.themercury.com.au. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
6. "NBL1 To Come To Queensland In 2020 | NBL". nbl.com.au.
7. "NBL1 Expands To North And South Conferences". NBL1.com.au. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
8. "NBL1 Central To Tip Off In 2020". NBL1.com.au. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.