West Adelaide Bearcats


West Adelaide Bearcats is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching West Adelaide Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organisation in Adelaide's western suburbs. The Bearcats play their home games at Port Adelaide Recreation Centre.
WWW bearcats.net.au

Club history

Background

The West Adelaide Basketball Club commenced in name in 1951 as a progression of the Kingston Basketball Club, which was established in 1946. The 'Bearcat' name was taken because of a close association with the University of Cincinnati in the United States. The club won four pre-state league men's premierships in 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1952.

SA State League / NBL1 Central

West Adelaide entered both a men's and women's team into the first official SA State League season in 1957, with the men's team playing in the inaugural grand final.
Between 1967 and 1996, the Bearcats men contested 23 grand finals and won 14 titles. Then between 2001 and 2014, they were grand finalists four more times but failed to claim a 15th title in that time. The Bearcats women on the other hand contested 14 grand finals between 1968 and 1993 and won six titles. The women went on to contest grand finals in 2007 and 2010 as well, collecting their seventh title in 2007. In 2017, the Bearcats men won their first title since 1996.
In 2022, the women's team won the NBL1 Central Grand Final to claim their first championship since 2007. In 2023, the men's team won the NBL1 Central Grand Final to claim their 16th championship. In 2025, the men's team returned to the NBL1 Central Grand Final, where they defeated the Central Districts Lions 83–73 to win their 17th championship.

NBL and WNBL

In 1979, the Bearcats entered the National Basketball League for the competition's inaugural season. The team enjoyed success during the early days of the NBL which included Grand Finals in 1980 and 1983, and an NBL championship victory against the Geelong Cats in 1982. Bearcats championship coach Ken Richardson was the inaugural MVP of the NBL in 1979. During the 1982 regular season, West Adelaide finished first with a 21–5 record behind the play of Americans Leroy Loggins and NBL MVP Al Green. The team merged with the Adelaide 36ers at the end of the 1984 season to form one 'Adelaide' team in the NBL, with the Bearcats providing six players to the roster including Peter Ali, Ray Wood, David Spear and Mike McKay along with coach Ken Cole and team manager Keith Woods.
In 1981, the women's team was a founding member of the Women's National Basketball League. The West Adelaide "Lady" Bearcats competed in the WNBL for 12 seasons. The 1984 season was the highlight of their tenure as they claimed the minor premiership and contested the 1984 WNBL Grand Final, where they lost 78–65 to the Nunawading Spectres. In 1985, the Bearcats had a team in both the WNBL and the second-tier Women's Basketball Conference.

1982 NBL Championship team

NBL1 Central Season by Season

Club and State League Awards

Bearcat Medal and MVP

The Bearcat Medal is the top award provided to a player in an NBL1 team and is voted by two coaches and a spectator after each game on a 3, 2, 1 basis.
Most Valuable Player is selected by the most amount of Woollacott Medal and Lorraine Eiler votes given to a West Adelaide Player. The votes are cast by referees' post-game on a 3, 2, 1 basis.
*Also won the Lorraine Eiler Medal or Woollacott Medal
Bearcat Medal was introduced in 2001.