JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville 95ers, the new professional basketball team in town, has announced a partnership with Jacksonville University to play its home games at Swisher Gymnasium.
CEO and President Kevin Waters said it means everything to be able to bring professional basketball back to Jacksonville as he has a spiritual connection with the city. Plus, Waters wanted to partner with Jacksonville University due to its history of athletic excellence, especially the Dolphins' cinderella run to the 1970 Final Four.
"It means everything to me to have this opportunity to bring professional basketball back to the city I love, Jacksonville," said Waters. "The historical background that these guys (Jacksonville University) have in athletics, and men's basketball, the great run they had to the Final Four with Artis Gilmore and those guys--Rex Morgan, Otis Smith, Dee Brown. It's an honor to be able to stand here and say we will facilitate our home games here."
As for now, the 95ers will compete in The Basketball League, which includes 49 teams, but Waters said he has a 3 to 5 year plan for the team to join the G-League, but it will take a lot of work.
"Stability of excellence. Providing excellence on and off the court. Being in the community. Establishing ourselves. We want to be the professional organization that you see that star player at the game, and then you might see him at school the next day. That's what we're looking to achieve."
Head coach Jerrod Tucker believes that the 95ers could become a huge part of Jacksonville's sports community.
"Once we put on our show, everybody's going to be like 'Oh man, I want to be a part of that,'" said Tucker. "So once you get everyone to buy in and actually be a part of it, sky's the limit. I'm going to be honest with you. Sky's the limit. We can be as big as the Jaguars, but I'm not going to say bigger."
The 95ers will open their season in March 2024.