Midwest Professional Basketball Association
 |
|
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 2014 |
| Inaugural season | 2015 |
| CEO | Ed Schumer |
| Motto | Welcome to the future of minor league basketball |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | United States |
| Continent | FIBA Americas |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Chicago Blues (2016) |
| Most titles | Champaign Swarm, Chicago Blues (1) |
| Official website | www.theMPBA.com |
The Midwest Professional Basketball Association (MPBA) is a professional men's basketball league that began play in January 2015. The six charter members were: Bloomington Flex, Champaign Swarm, Chicago Force, Gateway Steam, St. Louis RiverSharks and Windy City Groove.
Of the six inaugural season teams, only the Bloomington Flex have previously competed. The Flex were 2012 and 2013 champions of the Premier Basketball League (PBL). After a perfect 18-0 record in 2014, the team was suspended and then dismissed from the PBL by league officials after a scheduling conflict in the 2014 PBL playoffs.
MPBA is organized by Ed Schumer, Commissioner and CEO, Steven A. "Buzz" Zeller, Chief Operating Officer, Craig Fata, Associate Commissioner and Chief Communications Officer, and A.J. Guyton, Associate Commissioner and Director of Basketball Personnel.
The MPBA is not to be confused with the Midwest Basketball League (MBL).
The league tipped off its inaugural season on January 2, 2015, as the St. Louis RiverSharks and Gateway Steam played at Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. St. Louis defeated Gateway 108-96. Two more games took place at Family Arena on January 4, as the RiverSharks hosted the Bloomington Flex and the Gateway Steam hosted the Chicago Force. The RiverSharks upset the Flex 113-109, ending Bloomington's 24-game win streak, which had dated back to May 2013. The Steam defeated the Force 115-103.
The first time all six teams were in action at the same time was January 15, when the Flex hosted the RiverSharks in Bloomington, the Champaign Swarm hosted the Steam, and the Force hosted the Windy City Groove. All three games were broadcast in high definition via multi-camera productions on the league's website.
The 2015 regular season ended on April 7. The playoffs began two nights later in Bloomington in a Final Four-style format. The St. Louis RiverSharks secured the top seed with a 16-4 record by virtue of a 3-1 season series win over the Bloomington Flex, who also finished 16-4. The Champaign Swarm entered as the #3 seed with a 15-5 record, and the Gateway Steam were fourth at 5-15.
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