The Tobacco Road Basketball League (TRBL) was a professional men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

minor league in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

that began play in April 2012. The league is centered in

the Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nor ...

. In November 2014 the TRBL entered into an affiliation agreement with the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...

(PBL).

History

In 2011, the Wilmington Sea Dawgs and the

Cary Invasion The Cary Invasion is a member of the Tobacco Road Basketball League and the Premiere Basketball League based in Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh ...

announced the formation of the Tobacco Road Basketball League and their membership therein, thus leaving the

Continental Basketball League The Continental Basketball League (CBL) was a men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2010. The league was headquartered in Florida. History In 2009, Dennis Truax, who was previously affiliated with the Co ...

. The Fayetteville Crossover then announced their move to this league as well. On 2 December 2011, the Carolina Gladiators and PrimeTime Players joined the league. In January 2012, the league announced the addition of three travel/exhibition teams: Team Macleem, Queen City Express, and Big Texas. After the league's first season, the Carolina Gladiators moved to

Robeson County, North Carolina Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

and a new team called the Johnston County Nighthawks took their place in Smithfield. In October 2012, the league provisionally added the Blue Ridge Bison of Hendersonville, the Spartanburg Silver Lakers of South Carolina, the Greensboro Cobras, and a travel team, Team HoopForLyfe. They also said that the Express and Big Texas had found home venues and would play a full schedule. In December 2012, the league announced venues for Greensboro and the Hub City Lakers (renamed from the Spartanburg Silver Lakers), added the Bull City Legacy as a provisional team, and noted that Johnston County would be a travel team. It also said that the league would move to divisional play for the 2013 season. In October 2013, the league announced four additions, promoting the Bull City Legacy and South Carolina All-Stars to full members, after both having played 2013 as travel teams. The league added the Neuse River Basketball Club as a replacement for the Johnston County Nighthawks and added the Palmetto Flight. Changes were put in place for the 2014-15 season, primarily with the new flex-schedule. Games are played between November 1 and April 30 against "TRBL-sanctioned" teams. League teams are free to schedule as many games as they choose. All teams who play at least 10 sanctioned games are eligible for the playoffs. As a result of the change, five members (Carolina Gladiators, Fayetteville Crossover, PrimeTime Players, Queen City Express, and South Carolina All-Stars) left the league. Those teams would go on to form the East Coast Basketball League. In August 2015 the

and TRBL announced an expanded partnership which included six TRBL teams to compete as the PBL South East Division. Teams included are

, Charlotte Elite, Durham Legacy, Huntersville HoopForLyfe and Wilmington Sea Dawgs. After the 2016 season Lumberton Showstoppers announced that they were joining the ECBL. Seven more teams (Auburn Pro Elite Flyers, Chapel Hill Blue Force, Charlotte Elite, Greensboro Cobras, HoopForLyfe, Raleigh Revolt, Savannah Cavaliers and Wilmington Sea Dawgs) left the league before the beginning of the season, which caused a delay to the start.

Teams

Former teams

* Atlanta Dynamite All Stars * Atlantic Dragons (2014–15) * Auburn Pro Elite Flyers (2015–16) * Big Texas (2012–14) * Blue Ridge Bison (2013) * Bull City Legacy (2013–16) * Burlington Knights * Carolina Gladiators (2012–14) * Chapel Hill Blue Force (2015–16) * Charlotte Elite (2015–16) * Fayetteville Crossover (2012–14) * Georgia Kings (2014–15) * Greensboro Cobras (2013–16) * HoopForLyfe (2013–16) * Johnston County Nighthawks (2013) * Lumberton Showstoppers (2014–16) * Neuse River Basketball Club (2014) * Palmetto Flight (2013–14) * PrimeTime Players (2012–14) * Queen City Express (2012–14) * Raleigh Revolt (2014–16) * Savannah Cavaliers (2015–16) * South Carolina All Stars (2013–14) * Triangle Run and Gun (2014–15) * Winston-Salem Team Certified (2014–15) * Wilmington Sea Dawgs (2012–16)

Champions

References

External links

Official TRBL website
{{Men's professional basketball leagues Professional sports leagues in the United States Basketball leagues in the United States 2011 establishments in the United States Basketball in North Carolina Sports leagues established in 2011