The Wisconsin Glo will play in the Midwest Region with seven other teams and their home court will be the Oshkosh Arena.
OSHKOSH – Same team, different league.
The Wisconsin Glo will play in the semi-professional Independent Professional Women’s Basketball League for the 2024 season amid the uncertain future of the Global Women’s Basketball Association.
Wisconsin Glo owner Greg Pierce confirmed the team’s move ahead of its June 15 home opener against the Chicago Breeze after the GWBA temporarily suspended its operation this year.
“We’ve played teams in this league for exhibition games, so we’re just happy to have a place to play and we’re really looking forward to the competition,” Pierce told the Northwestern.
“We’ve known [league owner] Shajuanna [Jordan] for years and we have a great relationship with her, and with her league being based in Chicago it just made sense for us to enjoy the great competition and not face the prospect of sitting out a year.”
It’s not exactly known what led to the cancellation of the 2024 GWBA season, but the Glo were set to return as the defending champs after topping Flint in last season’s title game for their third championship in four seasons.
And they’re set to open this season as the IPWBL favorites, too, with a roster featuring 10 former NCAA Division I players, including one-time WNBA players Julie Wojta and Jolene Anderson and former Atlanta Dream first-round pick Samantha Logic.
“This is an amazing opportunity to have such an experienced, well-coached, well-managed and well-owned team play in our league,” Jordan said.
“Our women are going to get the opportunity to see how truly professional the Glo are, so I am just super excited to have them this season.”
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Owned by Ladies 1st Sports Agency, the IPWBL features 13 teams split into two divisions — the Midwest and Southern Region.
The teams play each other on a home-and-away basis before advancing to the semifinals and championship game of their respective regions.
The winners of each region then advances to the National Championship in Rockford, Illinois.
Oshkosh Arena will serve as the host venue for the Midwest Region semis and final on Aug. 10 and 11.
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“We have a great facility here in Oshkosh and everyone is excited to play here, so we were never going to have a problem bringing the playoffs to our arena,” said Pierce, who also serves as the owner of Oshkosh Arena.
“We’re just excited to join this league and get back to playing basketball.”
The Glo open their season at home against the Chicago Breeze June 15 and the Michiana Magic June 22 before playing their next three games on the road against Indy Wolves (July 14), St. Louis Rebels (July 20) and the Breeze (July 27).
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