ABA (2000- )
From Hoopedia
The American Basketball Association (ABA) is a professional men's basketball league founded in 1999. The current ABA has no direct relation to the famed original league, also called the American Basketball Association, that merged with the NBA in 1976.
History
The current American Basketball Association was formed in late 1999 by Joe Newman and Richard Tinkham, who licensed rights to the league's name from the National Basketball Association.
During the league's first two seasons, 2000-01 and 2001-02, it was known as ABA 2000. The league suspended operations following the second season, but resumed play in 2003-04 without the "2000" moniker.
The league undertook a new business model upon its return, resulting in an ambitious expansion program beginning with the 2004-05 season. Virtually anyone willing to pay the league's expansion fee ($10,000 or $20,000 depending on when they applied) was awarded an ABA franchise.
The expansion has had chaotic results since that time, with many teams failing to meet their financial obligations and folding during the course of the season, or folding without having ever played any actual games. Other teams have been forced to cancel games and curtail their schedules, with the playoff format being revised several times because of qualified teams failing to appear for games.
Despite these problems, a new round of expansion for 2005-06 occurred, with forty-seven teams scheduled to begin play. However, one of these teams never started the season, and seven of the others either folded or left the league within six weeks. Another six teams were gone by January 2006. Several struggling teams fulfilled their road dates by organizing pickup teams of former players who lived near the host site, while other teams refused to travel at all. Three teams that qualified for the 2005-2006 ABA Playoffs did not participate.
Another wave of expansion was announced for the 2006-07 season, with the cost for a new expansion franchise was raised to $50,000. One notable 2006-07 expansion franchise was the Vermont Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff. Also in 2006-2007, former NBA player John Salley was named league commissioner and Maryland Nighthawks owner Tom Doyle was named chief operating officer.
Following the league's first public offering in 2006, it was reported that Joe Newman was voted out of his position as league CEO. In a form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2007, the ABA board of directors stated that Newman was removed as league CEO on January 31, 2007. It went on to state that Newman's actions as league CEO would be reviewed to ensure that they were performed with the board's permission. The same filing also claimed that Newman and other shareholders plotted to remove Tom Doyle, John Salley, and David Howitt from the board and elect Paul Riley as its director. Newman denied his removal ever occurred and claims he is still the league CEO The lawsuits were settled in late March 2007 with Doyle and Salley's resignations from the ABA Board of Directors.
