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Entrepreneur Files
The Southwest Basketball League
UT Connection: Charles Johnson, BBA 84
Location: Austin, Round Rock, San Antonio, San Marcos, Sugar Land
Charles Johnson, BBA 84 and a former independent sports agent, was dismayed to find that there weren’t nearly enough job opportunities in the NBA for the many talented players he represented. “Of the roughly 3,500 basketball players coming out of Division I colleges each year,” he says, “only 44 will get jobs in the NBA.”
Facing those staggering statistics, and having spent countless hours trying to get team front offices to give his players a glance, Johnson decided his only option was to open up the market. So he created a new basketball league. Now in its fourth season, the Southwest Basketball League is holding its own with five teams in Texas—the Austin Cyclones, Round Rock Roughriders, San Antonio Bombers, San Marcos Slam, and Sugar Land Sharks—and hopes to add new franchises in the near future.
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As commissioner of the league and owner of the Sugar Land team, Johnson has already met several of his original goals. “At first my only goal was to field six teams in the first year, and we did that,” he says, noting that one franchise folded later. “And I’m really proud of the fact that in the four years the Southwest League has been in existence, five or six other leagues announced that they would start, but didn’t; and the others that started went out of business.” Johnson also fielded a women’s league, which completed its first full season last year.
With talk of the NBA developing a minor league system on the East coast, Johnson believes it’s still a couple of years before his territory will be invaded. And then perhaps, the Southwest Basketball League will be able to play a part in that expansion effort. “We believe we’ve created the right model for minor league basketball,” he says.
Aside from creating new opportunities for second-tier basketball players, the league has had the unintended consequence of increasing minority team ownership and leadership. “I didn’t set out to make this a black-owned league,” says Johnson. “But when I was looking to fill different positions, I naturally went to people I knew.” Johnson tapped several former UT players—Chris Klack, Reggie Freeman, Joey Wright, and Anthony Brown among them—for management, coaching, and advisory roles. Johnson notes that in the NBA, 90 percent of the ownership is white while 90 percent of the players are black. “Again, I don’t think that was intended, either, it’s just the by-product of your existing network.”
Another by-product of this minor league is that it creates a stepping stone into the majors. As Johnson explains, “The league provides affordable quality family entertainment while developing professional athletes, coaches, and officials.” While Johnson hasn’t had any of his players picked up by the NBA yet, he has had coaching staff get job offers.
To be sure, these players aren’t going to get rich any time soon—there are no multi-million dollar contracts to be signed, no spokesperson deals with major sporting goods companies—but they get to play a game they love in a competitive environment. And a whole new segment of the population can now enjoy watching minor league games.
What’s his biggest piece of advice for college-level athletes? “Take advantage of your education and get a degree,” he insists. “The facts are, the average ball player is not going to make it into the NBA, so you’d better have something to fall back on.”
For team schedules and other information, visit the League’s Web site at www.spbl.com.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
