Leicester Riders

Leicester Riders
League British Basketball League
Established 1967
History Loughborough All-Stars
1967–1981
Leicester All-Stars
1981–1986
Leicester City Riders
1986–1997
Leicester Riders
1997–present
Arena Leicester Arena
Arena Capacity 2,400
Location Leicester, Leicestershire
Team colours Red, White and Black
Main sponsor Jelson Homes
Head coach Rob Paternostro
Ownership Kevin Routledge / Russell Levenston
Website LeicesterRiders.co.uk
Uniforms
Home
Away

The Leicester Riders, officially known as the Jelson Homes Leicester Riders for sponsorship reasons, is a British professional basketball team that play in the British Basketball League (BBL). They are the oldest operating basketball team in the country,

Franchise history

Founded on 26 April 1967 and then known as the Loughborough All Stars, the Leicester Riders are the oldest club in British basketball.

They were founder members of the National Basketball League in 1972 and the BBL in 1987.

The Riders were founded by students and lecturers at Loughborough University in April 1967 and were known as the Loughborough All Stars. They were founder members of the National Basketball League in 1972, and the British Basketball League in 1987, and are the oldest club in British basketball operating at the top flight.

The club moved from Loughborough to Leicester in 1981, backed by Leicester City Council and Leicester City Bus (hence the change in nickname to "Riders"), before moving back to play at Loughborough University in 2000, following the closure of Granby Halls, at a new venue barely a stone's throw from Victory Hall where the club played its first game.

Logo used from 2004 until 2013

In 2004 the Riders agreed a sponsorship deal with De Montfort University (DMU) and moved back to Leicester, where they played their games at the DMU's John Sandford Sports Centre.

Following a difficult period for the Club financially between 2005 and 2007, former director of the team, Mike Steptoe, and the supporters club formed a consortium which raised enough money to keep the side running. Then local business Jelson Homes stepped forward to sponsor the Club and the appointment of general manager Russell Levenston began a turning point for the club. Part of the sponsorship deal with Jelson Homes was to ensure the future of the club by investing in 'basketball in the community' schemes, providing the youth of Leicester with basketball coaching programmes, such as the "Shoot to the Future" programme, run with the support of the Police.

Riders also now have an extensive youth programme for boys and girls, a Women’s team near the top of England Basketball’s Division One, one of the country’s largest Basketball Apprentice schemes at Charnwood College, and a partnership with Loughborough University, led by the Great Britain men’s captain Drew Sullivan, and which includes a GB Futures player, Jamell Anderson, two Great Britain Under 20 men’s internationals and two Great Britain Under 20 women’s internationals, as well as a number of boys and girls in England Under age international teams. Membership in the Club is expected to reach nearly 1,500 this season. The Club’s community programmes reach nearly 15,000 young people in the City and County.

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders secured the BBL Cup in thrilling fashion as they defeated the Newcastle Eagles 80–85 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on 13 January 2012, in front of a bumper 7,500 crowd, and live on Sky TV, their first piece of silverware since they won the Cup and the Playoff finals in 2001.

Home arenas

John Sanfdord Sport Centre, former home of the Leicester Riders.
Victory Hall (1967–1981)
Granby Halls (1981–2000)
Sir David Wallace Centre (2000–2004)
John Sandford Centre (2004–2014)
Sir David Wallace Centre (2014–2016)
Leicester Arena[1] (2016–present)

Season-by-season records

Season Div. Pos. Pld. W L Pts. Play-offs Trophy Cup
Loughborough All-Stars
1972–1973NBL4th105515N/AN/A1st Round
1973–1974NBL6th145919N/AN/ASemi-final
1974–1975NBL7th1881026N/AN/ASemi-final
1975–1976NBL 16th1861224N/AN/AQuarter-final
1976–1977NBL 16th1881026N/AN/AQuarter-final
1977–1978NBL 15th189918N/AN/AQuarter-final
1978–1979NBL 16th20101018DNQN/AQuarter-final
1979–1980Hiatus-------
1980–1981Hiatus-------
Leicester All-Stars
1981–1982NBL 21st1616032DNQN/A-
1982–1983NBL 16th2416832DNQN/A-
1983–1984NBL 16th36231345DNQN/A-
1984–1985NBL 16th26151130Semi-finalN/A-
1985–1986NBL 18th28141428-N/A-
Leicester City Riders
1986–1987NBL 15th2416832-N/A-
1987–1988BBL9th28141428DNQ1st RoundSemi-final
1988–1989BBL4h2014628Semi-finalSemi-final2nd Round
1989–1990BBL6th2872114DNQ1st Round2nd Round
1990–1991BBL4th24141028Semi-finalSemi-finalRunner-up
1991–1992BBL6th30141628Quarter-finalRunner-upSemi-final
1992–1993BBL8th33122124Quarter-finalSemi-finalSemi-final
1993–1994BBL7th36201640Quarter-finalSemi-finalQuarter-final
1994–1995BBL11th3682816DNQ1st RoundQuarter-final
1995–1996BBL9th36112522DNQ1st Round4th Round
1996–1997BBL8th36152130Quarter-finalSemi-finalQuarter-final
Leicester Riders
1997–1998BBL9th36152130DNQQuarter-finalRunner-up
1998–1999BBL12th3692718DNQSemi-final1st Round
1999–2000BBL N7th36102620DNQ1st RoundQuarter-final
2000–2001BBL N4th36171934Winners1st RoundWinners
2001–2002BBL N5th32112122DNQ1st Round1st Round
2002–2003BBL11th403376DNQ1st Round1st Round
2003–2004BBL9th3653110DNQ1st RoundQuarter-final
2004–2005BBL10th40112922DNQ1st Round1st Round
2005–2006BBL6th40182236Quarter-finalRunner-up1st Round
2006–2007BBL7th36132322Quarter-finalSemi-finalQuarter-final
2007–2008BBL10th33102320DNQ1st RoundQuarter-final
2008–2009BBL3rd33211242Semi-final1st RoundQuarter-final
2009–2010BBL6th36211542Quarter-final1st RoundSemi-final
2010–2011BBL8th33171634Quarter-finalSemi-finalQuarter-final
2011–2012BBL2nd3022844Runner-up1st RoundSemi-final
2012–2013BBL1st3330360WinnersRunner-upWinners
2013–2014BBL4th33231046Semi-final1st RoundWinners
2014–2015BBL2nd3630660Quarter-finalRunner-upQuarter-final
2015–2016BBL1st3329458Runner-upWinnersRunner-up
2016–2017BBL1st3327654WinnersQuarter-finalWinners

Notes:

Players

Current BBL Roster

Notable former players

References

  1. ↑ "Leicester Arena (@LeicesterArena) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  2. ↑ "Ward-Hibbert was Wimbledon's fastest server, now he's on a new court". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.