The Kentucky Bisons were a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

which began play in 2008–09, play in the South Central division. Although the management office for the Bisons was based in

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, the Bisons actually played their home games at the

Owensboro Sportscenter The Owensboro Sportscenter is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Owensboro, Kentucky. The stadium hosts sporting events as well as concerts. The Sportscenter is the home of the basketball teams of Kentucky Wesleyan College and Owensboro Cathol ...

, 60 miles north of Bowling Green. On December 14, 2010, the Bisons stated they would be suspending operations due to lack of support from the city of Owensboro, KY.

Team history

2008

With a 19–3 regular-season record, they qualified for the ABA's Elite Eight Championship tournament at the

Nashville Municipal Auditorium The Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee. It opened October 7, 1962 with both an arena and exhibition hall. The former exhibition hall has been permanent home to the Musicians Hall of Fame ...

(home to Southeast division rival the Nashville Broncs). After defeating Beijing Aoshen Olympian 106–104 in the first round, the Bisons would pull off an upset win over the top-seeded Southeast Texas Mustangs 107–89 to advance to the ABA title game. Finally, with their 127–120 win over the Maywood Buzz, the Bisons wrapped up the ABA title in their first year of existence.

2009

In 2009, they returned to the title series again, and faced top-seeded Southeast Texas. After winning game one, they lost both games two and three and the Mavericks were crowned champions.

2010

Shortly before the 2010 season both the head coach and assistant coach resigned their positions. On December 14, 2010, the Bisons announced that they would be suspending operations. The reason stated was the lack of support from the City of Owensboro and their businesses and fans.

Roster

Head Coach: Otis Key

References

External links

Official website
Defunct American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams Owensboro, Kentucky Defunct basketball teams in Kentucky Basketball teams established in 2008 Basketball teams disestablished in 2010 2008 establishments in Kentucky 2010 disestablishments in Kentucky {{Kentucky-basketball-team-stub