UCC Demons
| UCC Demons | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leagues | Super League |
| History |
Blue Demons 1973–1993, 1998–2002 UCC Demons 2002–present |
| Arena | Mardyke Arena, UCC |
| Location | Cork, Ireland |
| Team colors | Blue, white, red |
| Main sponsor | C&S Construction Services |
| President | Peter James Coughlan |
| Head coach | Tim O'Halloran |
| Championships | 8 (1974, '81, '84, '89, 2005, '09, '15, '16) |
| Website | BlueDemonsBC.com |
UCC Demons, also known as C&S UCC Demons for sponsorship reasons, is an Irish basketball team based in Cork. The team competes in the Super League and plays its home games at Mardyke Arena. The team is a division of Blue Demons Basketball Club and is directly associated with the University College Cork.
In 1959, a youth club known as De Paul Boys Club was established in Sunday's Well, Cork as a means for boys to play indoor sports between September and April. In 1966, a men's team entered the senior ranks of Cork Basketball. The team was built off the basis of De Paul, with most of the players in the inaugural team having come through the juvenile level with De Paul. Thus, Blue Demons Basketball Club was established. The name "Blue Demons" was the preferred choice as it was the nickname of the DePaul University college basketball team in Chicago, who were very generous in their support of the fledgling De Paul Boys Club. The year 1968 was a significant year for Blue Demons with participation in the first National Club Competition. The National Club Competition was the forerunner of the National League, which began in 1973.
Blue Demons were the inaugural winners of the National League in 1973–74. Their dominance was quickly overrun, as the Dublin sides rose during the late 1970s. By the early 1980s, the recruitment of American imports saw the league expand and grow in popularity. Basketball in Cork was huge as a result, with arch rivals Neptune and Blue Demons fighting out for supremacy throughout the 1980s. Behind the likes of Jasper McElroy and Anthony Jenkins, Blue Demons won three National League titles between 1981 and 1989.
A form slump between 1989–90 and 1992–93 saw Blue Demons withdraw from the top flight National League in 1993. It was determined by then Club Chairman Barry Deasy that continuing their participation at senior national level would jeopardise the future of the club and make it impossible to maintain their juvenile and junior structure. In 1997, the club entered an intermediate squad in the Sprite National Cup to test their strength and standards in the hope of re-entering the National League in 1998. Behind Americans Lafelle McGilvery (27ppg) and John Owens (29ppg), as well as Shane Coughlan, Shane McCarthy and Noel Browne (vital members of Blue Demons' 1996 U19 Cup title), the team had victories over Limerick and St Gall's before meeting their match against Cup holders Denny Notre Dame. Their successful five-year focus on junior basketball saw Blue Demons win the 1998 Club of the Year award courtesy of the Irish Basketball Association.
...
Wikipedia