The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Playing in the top-tier

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's history. The Eagles moved into their own purpose-built arena, the Eagles Community Arena, in January 2019 when they hosted the

Plymouth Raiders The Plymouth Raiders was a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition. The club was founded in 1983 through a merger between two l ...

. Their traditional arch rivals are the Glasgow Rocks, however in recent years a rivalry with the

Leicester Riders Leicester Riders are a British professional basketball team and the oldest club in the British Basketball League (BBL). Established in 1967, the club have played in various locations around Leicestershire before moving to their current purpose- ...

has also developed. The Northumbria Northstars cheerleading team provide the cheerleaders known as the Eaglettes.

Franchise history

Early years and move to Tyneside

The club's roots can be traced back to the founding of EPAB Washington in 1976. The club played in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

at the Crowtree Leisure Centre under various monikers throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, managing a second place league finish in 1983, as well as two play-off victories at Wembley in 1981 & '83. In 1995, the owner Dave Elderkin moved the club to Newcastle, to be known as the Newcastle Comets. Soon afterwards the club was bought by Sir John Hall, then the chairman of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

, adding them to his Newcastle Sporting Group of the city's football, ice hockey and rugby teams. Hall's Sporting Club group was considered by most observers to be a relative failure and upon its dissolution, Ken Nottage and Paul Blake became the Eagles' new owners. The final name change, from the Comets to the Eagles, took place in 1996. Performances remained consistent with the club achieving regular top five league placings from 1998 onwards.

The "Clean sweep" of 2005–06

The 2005–06 season proved to be the most successful in their history so far when, under the guidance of player/coach

Fabulous Flournoy Fabulous Flournoy (born 31 July 1973) is a former professional basketball player who currently serves as assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. He was previously the player-coach for the Newcastle Eagles, who compete in the British Basketball ...

, the club achieved a "clean sweep" of trophies, including the BBL Cup, BBL Trophy and Championship "double". In addition, Flournoy picked up the BBL Coach of the Year and former Villanova Wildcat,

Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...

, was voted BBL Player of the Year. Flournoy, Sullivan and Andrew Bridge were also members of the bronze medal winning England team in the 2006 Commonwealth Games during March 2006.

Recent times

At the start of the 2007–08 season it was announced that Nike and Northern Rock were to sponsor the Eagles, bringing in more money to the club. Also, the signing of

Richard Midgley Richard Midgley (born 7 July 1983 in Burgess Hill, England) is a retired British professional basketball player who finished his career at the age of 26. He played Point Guard and played for Great Britain. His final club was Everton Tigers of th ...

gave great hope that the eagles could challenge

Guildford Heat The Surrey Scorchers are an English professional basketball team based in Guildford, Surrey, that compete in the British Basketball League. The team was established in 2005 as the Guildford Heat by fans of former British Basketball League team ...

to regain the BBL League title. However, after a bust up with player/coach, Fab Flournoy he soon left to join the

Everton Tigers The Mersey Tigers were a professional basketball team based in the city of Liverpool, England. The club was established in 2007 as a start-up franchise of the British Basketball League, the country's elite competition. The Tigers started comp ...

. This meant there was no point guard and this led to the signing of Bryan Defares who could not settle in England and he too left. Finally, at the third attempt, Steve Leven (former NBA prospect) was signed despite his bad boy reputation. After defeat in the

BBL Cup The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, is an annual cup competition for British basketball teams organised by the United Kingdom's top professional league, the British Basketball League. It is one of two peripheral co ...

, then later defeat in the BBL Trophy Final the Eagles were in danger of having a poor season. Fortunately, after a miraculous overtime win against

, they won the

BBL A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels (such as the U.K. beer barrel and U.S. beer barrel), oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units ...

League Title. At the start of the 2008–09 season they were strengthened by the signing of Trey Moore from Cheshire Jets. After an indifferent start, they embarked on a 17 match winning run to become the first team for nearly two decades to retain the

title, finishing 8 points ahead of

. They also reached the semi-finals of the

, losing narrowly to

on aggregate before gaining revenge by beating them home and away in the BBL Trophy semi-final. The Eagles beat

at The Spectrum in the Final. In the play-offs they narrowly avoided an upset after seeing off

Cheshire Jets The Cheshire Phoenix are a professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, England. Founded in 1984, they are members of the British Basketball League and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the team was ...

88–83 before beating

to form a match against

once again. Despite 30 points from ex-Eagles

, the Eagles held on for a 97–94 win, therefore winning the treble to cap off their most successful season since the clean sweep. In the 2009–10 season the Eagles again retained the

title, finishing 2 points ahead of

Sheffield Sharks The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The Sharks play in the British Basketball League and play thei ...

. The league title actually came down to the last game of the season with

losing their last game of the season 97–95 to

Worthing Thunder The Worthing Thunder are an English professional basketball team based in Worthing, West Sussex. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball League (NBL). Founded in 1999 as the Worthing Rebels after the Worthing Bears had relocated to Br ...

thanks to Evaldas Zabas' basket 4 seconds from the end. This completed the double for the Eagles who had won the BBL Trophy by beating 111–95 in the Final at The Spectrum. In the

Eagles lost 64–61 in the quarter-finals to

and in the play-offs

beat the Eagles 190–158 on aggregate in the two legged semi-final. At the start of the 2010–2011 season it was announced that the Esh Group, along with partners

Northumbria University , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

and

Northumbrian Water Northumbrian Water Limited is a water company in the United Kingdom, providing mains water and sewerage services in the English counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and parts of North Yorkshire, and also supplying water as Essex an ...

would be the new main sponsors of the Eagles. In the

the Eagles were beaten 204–182 on aggregate by the

Mersey Tigers The Mersey Tigers were a professional basketball team based in the city of Liverpool, England. The club was established in 2007 as a start-up franchise of the British Basketball League, the country's elite competition. The Tigers started comp ...

in the semi-finals. Eagles had won the first leg at home 97–90 but lost the second leg away 114–85. It was the

who would beat the Eagles in the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy also. After a rare first leg draw (82–82) away from home, the Eagles went down 77–74 at home.

Modern era

The club repeated the feat of 2005–06 by winning all of the trophies on offer in a season for a second time 2011–12. The previous season was the first time since 2003–04 that they had failed to win a trophy. They lost 7 league games, 3 less than in 2005–06, although this time around they were only required to play 30 games, 10 less than in 2005–06. They clinched the clean sweep with a victory over

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in the play-off final on 12 May. A hat-trick of sweeps was completed in the 2014–15 season.

Eagles Community Arena

In January 2019, the Eagles moved into their own purpose-built arena on the Scotswood Road. Success did not follow them there at first, as they crashed out of the BBL Trophy, BBL Cup and BBL Playoffs without reaching any finals, and finished 3rd in the BBL for the second consecutive season. On the night of their first preseason game ahead of the 2019-20 British Basketball League season, the club was rocked by the announcement that head coach

would leave the club after 17 years. Flournoy would join the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

, the then-defending NBA champions, as an assistant coach, reuniting with his friend and mentor

Nick Nurse Nicholas David Nurse (born July 24, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach, author and former college basketball player. He is the head coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Canadian men's ...

, who gave him his first professional contract with the

Birmingham Bullets The Birmingham Bullets were a British professional basketball team from Birmingham, England who competed in the British Basketball League (BBL). The club was founded in 1974 as Coventry Granwood before moving to Birmingham in 1980 as part of the ...

in 1996. Assistant coach Ian MacLeod was announced as his interim replacement as head coach.

Home venues

* 1976-1978 - Northumbria Centre, Washington * 1978-1991 - Crowtree Leisure Centre, Sunderland * 1991-1995 - Northumbria Centre, Washington * 1995-2010 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne * 2010-2018 -

Sport Central Sport Central is a multi-purpose built sports centre and events arena that is located in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It forms part of the Northumbria University campus, in the city centre. The centre houses facilities for swimmi ...

, Newcastle upon Tyne * 2019-present - Eagles Community Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

Season-by-season records

Club records

Accurate as of 7 October 2014 (Includes BBL Championship games only) * 3 pts scored – Russ Saunders 716 * Assists – Fabulous Flournoy – 1,528 * Blocked shots – Fabulous Flournoy – 320 * Defensive rebounds – Fabulous Flournoy – 1,497 * Field Goals scored – Charles Smith – 1,621 * Free Throws scored – Charles Smith – 761 * Games Played – Fabulous Flournoy – 393 * Offensive Rebounds – Darius Defoe – 894 * Personal Fouls – Fabulous Flournoy – 1,075 * Points – Charles Smith – 5,897 * Steals – Fabulous Flournoy – 605 * Total Rebounds – Fabulous Flournoy – 2,139 * Turnovers – Fabulous Flournoy – 910

Trophies

League

* BBL Regular Season Winners: 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15 7 * BBL Regular Season Runners Up: 1990–91, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2016–17 6 * WBBL Championship Runners Up: 2015–2016,

Playoffs

* BBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2020–21 7 * BBL Championship Play Off Runners Up: 1989–90, 1990–91, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2016–17 5 * WBBL Championship Play Off Winners: 2015–2016,

Trophy

* BBL Trophy Winners: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019-20 7 * BBL Trophy Runners Up: 2000–01, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2015–16 4

Cup

* BBL Cup Winners: 2005–06, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21 6 * BBL Cup Runners Up: 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14 3 * English National Cup Winners: 1990–91 1 * English National Cup Runners Up: 1989–90 1

Players

Current roster

Female roster

Notable former players

:To appear in this section a player must have either: – Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
– Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time. *-

Olu Babalola Olu Babalola (born 10 September 1981) is a British professional basketball player who plays for the Leeds Force in the British Basketball League. Born in London, England, Babalola played for St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, Ne ...

*- Stedroy Baker *- Flinder Boyd *-

Tony Dorsey Anthony Jerald Dorsey (born July 15, 1970) is an American-born British former professional basketball player. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, and a weight of 220 lbs. (100 kg), he played at the pow ...

*- Perry Lawson *-

*- Peter Scantlebury *- Tom Sherlock *-

*- Andrew Thomson *- Stuart Thomson *- Steve Leven *- Eddie Matthew *

Nigel Lloyd Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...

* Zarko Jukić * Pétur Guðmundsson * Andre Jones * Shawn Myers *

Jeremy Hyatt Jeremy Hyatt (born October 16, 1974) is retired American professional basketball player, who formerly played for the Newcastle Eagles in the British Basketball League. He was a key player in the success of the Eagles, most notably the "clean sw ...

* Scott Martin *

Trey Moore Warren Neal “Trey” Moore III (born October 2, 1972), is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), between and , for the Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves. He also play ...

* Dwayne Morton * Kadiri Richard * Charles Smith *

Lynard Stewart Lynard Stewart (born May 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and current high school basketball coach. Playing career The 6'8" forward/center played at Temple University, where he graduated in 1998, before signing a pro ...

* TJ Walker *- Ian Whyte

Head coach

Stats correct up to and including 4 September 2022

Retired numbers

*5 TJ Walker, Guard, 2000–2007 *10 Charles Smith, Forward, 2000–2016

Hall of Fame

* TJ Walker 2000–2007 * Lynard Stewart 2007–2010

Staff

* Chief Executive Officer - Sam Blake * Managing Director - Paul Blake * Chief Operating Officer - Susan Hunter * Head Coach – Marc Steutel * Assistant Coach – Gary Stronach * Team Manager – Eric Wilson * Development Manager - Ian MacLeod * Communications Manager - Dan Black * Public Announcer - Howard Leighton * Junior Development Officer - Chris Applewhite * Academy Coach - Calvin George * Academy Coach - Chloe Gaynor * Academy Coach - Ellen Totten * Academy Coach - Jack Burgess * Community Coach - Sam Dobson * Community Coach - Alistair Langley * Community Coach - Matty Langley * Community Coach - Martin Walton * Community Coach - Carl Thompson * Community Coach - Jacob Jonas * Community Coach - Kristian Morton * Community Coach - Mark Sowerby * Community Coach - Jack Bertram * Community Coach - Gerda Morkunaite * Community Coach - Marina Fernandez

References

External links

Official Newcastle Eagles website

Newcastle Eagles news
from ChronicleLive {{British Basketball League teamlist Basketball teams established in 1976 Sport in Newcastle upon Tyne Basketball teams in England