Evelyn Magley Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Evelyn Magley, CEO of The Basketball League
First Black Woman to Own a Men’s Professional Sports League.
COLUMBIA, MO - Eveyln Magley has become the first Black woman to found and own a men’s professional basketball league in the United States.
As former Director of Community Engagement for the Brampton A’s of the National Basketball League (NBL) in Canada, Evelyn is now the CEO of The Basketball League (TBL). TBL had its first season in 2018 with only 9 teams in the league. Now in 2020 they have started their third season with 12 teams from around the United States.
Evelyn’s idea for The Basketball League stems from a desire to do good in the community. She envisions the league with community engagement as the foundation and basketball as second.
“My time in Canada really opened my eyes to the good we can do.” Evelyn said. “Everyone there was involved in some sort of non-profit or cause, something we don’t really see in the states.”
Evelyn hopes that each team will be active in their community, spending time with local youth developing life skills beyond basketball.
“Our motto is ‘Where the Game Lives,’” said Evelyn. “The spirit of the game is love. It is all about reflecting love to the community.”
Evelyn has always had a passion for sports, but her first love was music. She earned both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Music Therapy from University of Kansas. During her time at KU she met her husband David Magley, 28th overall selection in the 1982 NBA draft.
“His passion for the game definitely rubbed off on me,” said Evelyn.
As Evelyn continues to trail-blaze her own path, she hopes to incorporate her love for people into the league. With a woman so well versed in community engagement as Evelyn, a different league for basketball, and professional sports, is certainly on the horizon.
“I think it was part of our destiny,” said Evelyn. “When I look back at my life and the thousands of basketball games I’ve been to and the love I have for helping the youth and the community, it made absolute sense for me to start this league.”
TBL will also serve as a more financially feasible option for families looking to spend time together on a budget. Families will be able to attend a professional basketball game, get snacks and drinks all for less than the price of an NBA ticket.
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ABOUT THE BASKETBALL LEAGUE: Founded by Evelyn and David Magley in 2019, The Basketball League is the first men’s professional league in the US to have an African-American woman serving as its CEO. Prior to founding TBL with his wife, David served as the Commissioner of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL).
For more information, visit https://thebasketballleague.net/
