The Omaha Racers were an American

minor league basketball Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

team based in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. The franchise played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

(CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise liage started in 1982 as the

Wisconsin Flyers The Wisconsin Flyers were a professional basketball team based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. They were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1982 to 1987. The team relocated to Rochester, Minnesota at the conclusion ...

. The franchise spent two seasons in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Ac ...

before relocating to Omaha in 1989 to become the Racers. The team's home venue was Ak-Sar-Ben Arena. Throughout the entire history of the Racers,

Mike Thibault Michael Francis Thibault (born September 28, 1950) is an American basketball head coach, formerly of the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, and now of the Washington Mystics. In 2013, Thibault became the WNBA's all time most successful coach with 212 vi ...

served as the team's

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

and led Omaha to appearances in two CBA Finals. The team was victorious over the Grand Rapids Hoops during the 1993 CBA Finals.

Franchise history

Wisconsin Flyers (1982–87)

Rochester Flyers (1987–89)

The Rochester Flyers would finish 20-34 (fifth place in the Western Division) in the 1987–88 season, failing to qualify for the CBA playoffs. In 1988–89 the Flyers finished last in the West with a 16-38 record. Despite averaging approximately 2,600 fans per home game, the team moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

after the season.

Omaha Racers (1989–1997)

Before the start of the Racers inaugural season, the CBA ruled that the team's ownership was not financially solvent and franchise would need to be put up for sale.

Terren Peizer Terren Scott Peizer, is an investor and company executive. He is the CEO of Acuitas Group Holdings and Neurmedix. He is also the CEO and chairman of Ontrak. He has held senior executive positions within technology and biotech companies, at Goldman ...

purchased the team on September 15, 1989 and announced he would keep the team in Omaha. Team president and general manager Mike Cole told Ray Waddell of ''Amusement Business'', "We're very happy with how it has worked out ..We pulled off something many people said we couldn't do." Under head coach

, the Racers went 29-27 in 1989–90 and made the CBA playoffs in the National Conference, where they lost to the

San Jose Jammers The Bakersfield Jammers, known originally as the San Jose Jammers, were an American professional basketball team that were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1992. Originally based in San Jose, California, the tea ...

in the first round. It was the first post-season appearance for the franchise since Detroit swept them in the 1984–1985 Western Division final. On February 4, 1990, Racers player Roland Gray set a franchise record for points scored in a game with 45 in a game against the

. The 1990–91 Racers would have the best record in franchise history (39-17), but lost to the

Quad City Thunder The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on the co ...

in the American Conference finals.

Tim Legler Timothy Eugene Legler (born December 26, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently an ESPN basketball analyst and co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Col ...

was named the team's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

following the season. Moving back to the National Conference in 1991–92, Omaha finished second in the Northern Division (37-19) to the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball As ...

. After defeating the Oklahoma City Cavalry in the second round of the playoffs, the Racers lost to the Thrillers in the conference finals, 3 games to 2. Mike Thibault-20170914

The 1992–93 Racers made it to the top, after finishing second in the Northern Division (28-28) again to Rapid City. Omaha beat the

Wichita Falls Texans The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwes ...

in the first round, then slipped past Rapid City in a five-game conference final. In the CBA championship, Omaha defeated the Grand Rapids Hoops in six games. A 106-98 win on May 1, 1993 in Grand Rapids would be the high-water mark of the franchise. In spite of their success, the attendance dropped during the 1992–93 season, which promoted team officials to announce that if they failed to sell 3,500 season tickets before the start of the next season the Racers would relocate. Omaha averaged 3,062 attendees per game during the 1992–93 season, which was down from 3,875 per game the season before. Rapid City finished ahead of Omaha (30-26) in the Northern Division for the third straight year in 1993–94. Omaha made it back to the CBA finals, after defeating the Tri-City Chinook in round one and Rapid City in the conference finals. The

defeated Omaha in five games to win the league title. Omaha (26-30) moved to the Southern Division in 1994–95 and finished second to Oklahoma City. They beat the Sioux Falls SkyForce in the first round, but fell to Oklahoma City in the second round. Thibault missed seven games as head coach, being replaced by Eric Chapman, as he coached the US in the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake stri ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. Omaha (28-28) moved back to the Northern Division of the National Conference in 1995–96, and finished second again, this time to Sioux Falls. The

Florida Beachdogs The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball As ...

swept the Racers out of the playoffs in round one. With the CBA shrinking to 11 teams in 1996–97, Omaha was placed in the 5-team National Conference and finished in fourth place (22-34). In one of the biggest upsets in CBA playoff history, the Racers defeated Sioux Falls (47-9) in five games, winning the clincher in South Dakota, 98-92.

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

brought them back down to earth, winning the conference finals, 3 games to 1. During their final season, Kevin Kugler served as the Racers play-by-play announcer. With a record of 375-413, plus a 42-49 mark in the playoffs, and one CBA title (1992–93), the Wisconsin/Rochester/Omaha Racers franchise was declared inactive in the summer of 1997. At the time, there was some faint hope that the franchise may start up again in 1998–99. The two teams who had made the CBA finals in 1997, Oklahoma City and Florida, also folded. In 2013, on the 20 anniversary of Omaha's 1993 CBA Championship win, 30 former Racers players, staff and executives gathered for a reunion event at Ralston Arena.

Season-by-season standings

Awards and accolades

*1993 CBA Champions *1993 & 1994 National Conference Champions *1990–91 All-CBA Team:

*1990–91 All-CBA Defense Team: Willie Simmons *1990–91 All-CBA Rookie Team: Brian Howard *1992–93 All-CBA First Team: Tim Legler *1993 CBA Playoffs Most Valuable Player: Jim Thomas *

Corey Gaines Corey Yasuto Gaines (born June 1, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played five seasons in the NBA, and was a four-time Israeli Premier League Assists Leader, in 1999 and in 2001 to 2003. He was also a forme ...

led the CBA with 11.6 assists per game during the 1989–1990 season

All-time roster

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* Jerry Adams * Randy Allen * Ted Allen * Herb Baker * Darien Baptiste * Mike Bell * Alex Blackwell * Pat Bolden *

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* Dudley Bradley * Willie Brand *

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* Bruce Chubick * Ben Coleman * Jerome Coles *

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* Jeffty Connelly *

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* Steve Criss * Deryl Cunningham * Michael Curry * Robyn Davis *

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* Kenny Drummond * Chip Engelland * Wayne Engelstad * Michael Evans *

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* Kevin Franklin *

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* Sean Gay * Barry Glanzer * Paul Graham * Ronnie Grandison * Roland Gray * Geert Hammink *

Darrin Hancock Darrin Hancock (born November 3, 1971) is a retired American professional basketball player. In high school and college he was known for his strong offense, while his quick and agile moves to the basket drew comparisons to the likes of Dominique ...

* Phil Handy * Holman Harley * Quinn Harwood * Mike Higgins *

Nate Higgs Nathan Lee "Nate" Higgs (born October 21, 1970) is an American/Spanish basketball player and coach. Personal information Higgs is 6'7" tall. Graduated from Tarboro High School in Tarboro, N.C. College Higgs played for the Elizabeth City State U ...

* Johnnie Hilliard * Anthony Houston * Brian Howard * Cedric Hunter * William Hunter * Dave Jamerson *

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*Jerry Johnson *

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*Mike Jones * Ricky Jones *

Bart Kofoed Bart Kofoed (born March 24, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player. At 6'4" (1.93 m) he played as a small forward/shooting guard. Kofoed attended Hastings College before transferring to Kearney State College (now University of ...

* Jim Les * Cedric Lewis *

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* Brian Martin * Erik Martin * James Martin * Warren Martin * Rod Mason * Clinton McDaniel * Ron Moore * Howard Nathan *

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* Sebastian Neal * Dyron Nix * Dan O'Sullivan * Matt Othick * Mark Peterson *

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* Joe Rhett * Keith Robinson *

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* John Strickland * Melvin Robinson * Ricky Robinson * Willie Simmons * Charles Smith * Alex Stivrins * John Strickland *

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* Jim Thomas *

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* Kerwin Thompson * Patrick Tompkins * Tommy Tormohlen *

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* Paul Weakley *

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* Scott Wilke * Greg Wiltjer * Al Wood * Steve Wright *

Kenny Young Kenny Young (born Shalom Giskan, April 14, 1941 – April 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Mark ...

* Rodney Zimmerman * Gus Gonidakis :''Sources''

Notes

{{reflist

External links

History of the CBA

* Shatel, Tom (August 22, 2013)

''Omaha World Herald''. Omaha, Nebraska.
Semi-pro Basketball Players: Omaha Racers
via Long Haul Productions Basketball teams in Minnesota Basketball teams in Nebraska Continental Basketball Association teams Defunct basketball teams in the United States 1989 establishments in Nebraska