The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball 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 city ...

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 southwe ...

. 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 m ...

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

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 assoc ...

and led Omaha to appearances in two CBA Finals. The team was victorious over the

Grand Rapids Hoops The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand ...

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 cit ...

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 Goldma ...

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 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 Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

set a franchise record for points scored in a game with 45 in a game against the San Jose Jammers. 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. Co ...

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 particu ...

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 The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...

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 Midwe ...

in the first round, then slipped past Rapid City in a five-game conference final. In the CBA championship, Omaha defeated the

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 The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

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 strike ...

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 second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. 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 A ...

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, a ...

brought them back down to earth, winning the conference finals, 3 games to 1. During their final season,

Kevin Kugler Kevin Kugler is an American sportscaster who primarily works in radio broadcasting. Kugler is currently employed by Westwood One as its lead college basketball voice as well as one of its Sunday NFL voices, and by the Big Ten Network as a play-by- ...

served as the Racers

play-by-play announcer In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio wa ...

. 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 The Liberty First Credit Union Arena, formerly known as Ralston Arena and sometimes as Ralston Sports and Event Center, is an arena located in Ralston, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha. It serves as the home of the Omaha Lancers of the United States ...

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

Alaa Abdelnaby Alaa Abdelnaby ( ar, علاء عبد النبي), (born June 24, 1968) is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played for the Duke Blue Devils and then played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continental ...

Jerry Adams Jerry McKee Adams, FAA, FRS, FAHMS, FRSV (born 17 June 1940) is an Australian-American molecular biologist whose research into the genetics of haemopoietic differentiation and malignancy, led him and his wife, Professor Suzanne Cory, to ...

* Randy Allen *

Ted Allen Edward Reese Allen (born May 20, 1965) is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the Bravo network's television program '' Queer Eye'', and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series ' ...

* Herb Baker * Darien Baptiste * Mike Bell *

Alex Blackwell Alexandra Joy Blackwell (born 31 August 1983) is a former professional cricketer who played for New South Wales Breakers, New South Wales and Australia national women's cricket team, Australia as a specialist batter. In October 2017, she made h ...

* Pat Bolden *

David Boone Humphrey David Boone, Jr. (October 30, 1951 – March 26, 2005) was an All-Star Canadian Football League defensive lineman, winner of 5 Grey Cups. Career Rookie Year Boone graduated from Eastern Michigan University and was drafted by the M ...

Dudley Bradley Dudley Leroy Bradley (born March 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bradley played collegiately for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was selected ...

* Willie Brand * Torgeir Bryn * Bruce Chubick * Ben Coleman * Jerome Coles * Steve Colter * Jeffty Connelly *

Duane Cooper Samuel Duane Cooper (born June 25, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Cooper graduated from the University of Southern California. Pro career Cooper was selected by the ...

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

Mario Donaldson is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

* Kenny Drummond *

Chip Engelland Arthur Edward "Chip" Engelland III (born May 9, 1961) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Career A nati ...

* Wayne Engelstad * Michael Evans *

Matt Fish Matthew Edward Fish (born November 18, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Washingto ...

* Kevin Franklin *

* Chad Gallagher *

Sean Gay Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

* Barry Glanzer * Paul Graham *

Ronnie Grandison Ron Calvin Grandison (born July 6, 1964) is a former basketball player, who attended the University of California, Irvine and the University of New Orleans. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1987 NBA draft, 100th pick overall, by the Den ...

Geert Hammink Geert Hendrik Hammink (born 12 July 1969) is a Dutch former basketball player and current coach. He is the current head coach of the Skyliners Frankfurt of the German Basketball Bundesliga. He was selected by the Orlando Magic in the first round ...

* Darrin Hancock *

Phil Handy Philip T. Handy (born August 24, 1971)1998–99 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 250 is an American basketball assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and player development trainer. He played ...

* 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 Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

* Brian Howard *

Cedric Hunter Cedric R. Hunter (born January 16, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he was a 6'0" (183 cm) 180 lb (82 kg) point guard and played collegiately at the University of Kansas. Hunte ...

* William Hunter *

Dave Jamerson John David Jamerson (born August 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round (15th pick overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. Jamerson played for the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz a ...

Darryl Johnson Darryl, Daryl or Darrell Johnson may also refer to: Sports *Darryl Johnson (basketball) (born 1965), American basketball player * Daryl Johnson (born 1946), American football defensive back * Darryl Johnson (American football) (born 1997), American ...

*Jerry Johnson *

Sam Johnson Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the acting ...

*Mike Jones * Ricky Jones * Bart Kofoed *

Jim Les James Alan Les (born August 18, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the UC Davis Aggies men's team. A former point guard, Les played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after his ...

* Cedric Lewis * Malcolm Mackey * Brian Martin *

Erik Martin Erik Martin (12 January 1936 in Neuss – 25 April 2017) was a German writer, songwriter and composer of songs. He was the founder and editor of the literature and art magazine ''Muschelhaufen''. Life and work Erik Martin was the first-born son ...

* James Martin * Warren Martin * Rod Mason * Clinton McDaniel * Ron Moore *

Howard Nathan Howard Nathan Jr. (January 21, 1972 – July 28, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. Born in Peoria, Illinois, Nathan attended DePaul University, Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana at Monroe) and Northwes ...

Craig Neal Craig Duane Neal (born February 16, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is currently the associate head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). He was selected by the Portland Tr ...

* Sebastian Neal *

Dyron Nix Dyron Patrick Nix (February 11, 1967 – December 15, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. The 6'7" 210 pound forward played his college basketball at the University of Tennessee. He was a two time first team All-SEC performer ...

* Dan O'Sullivan * Matt Othick * Mark Peterson *

Tim Price Tim Price (born 3 April 1979) is a New Zealand equestrian, competing in eventing. He is married to Jonelle Price (née Richards), also a New Zealand eventing rider. They are both competing at top international level. Price was born in 1979 in ...

* Joe Rhett * Keith Robinson *

Clifford Rozier Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name * William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford * Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford * Clifford baronets *Clifford f ...

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

* Joe Temple * Jim Thomas *

Dean Thompson Dean Thompson is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Patrick O'Connor. The character made his first screen appearance on 1 February 2018. The character was introduced as one of ''Home and ...

* Kerwin Thompson * Patrick Tompkins * Tommy Tormohlen *

Kenny Travis Kenny Travis (born February 6, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player. Career A junior college standout, Travis played two years at New Mexico State from the 1985–86 to 1986–87 season. In his final year, he averaged 20.2 p ...

Reginald Turner Reginald Turner (2 June 1869 – 7 December 1938) was an English author, an aesthete and a member of the circle of Oscar Wilde. He worked as a journalist, wrote twelve novels, and his correspondence has been published, but he is best known as on ...

* Mark Wade * Paul Weakley *

Kelsey Weems Kelsey Russell Weems (September 16, 1967 – August 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A point guard from the state of Georgia, Weems played college basketball at NC State and stayed four years despite limited playing time ...

* Scott Wilke *

Greg Wiltjer Gregory Hilko Wiltjer (born November 26, 1960) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. At a height of six feet, eleven inches (2.11 m) tall, he played at the centre position. He played in several important tournaments for the senior ...

Al Wood Martin Alphonzo Wood (born June 2, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played in six National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons for four teams: the Atlanta Hawks, San Diego Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics and Dallas M ...

* 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 ...

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* 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