There’s a brand new participant on San Antonio’s skilled sports activities panorama.
The San Antonio Clutch, launched in March, is a part of The Basketball League (TBL), an Indianapolis, Indiana-based league owned by Evelyn Magley, the primary African American girl to personal a male skilled sports activities league in the USA.
TBL began with eight groups in 2018 and at this time it has 34. The Clutch competes within the Midwest Convention, the place the final 4 champions are positioned, together with two-time defending champions Potawatomi Hearth from Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Pals and enterprise companions Jason Perez and Devin Brown personal and function the Clutch, each serving as group market house owners.
Perez, a former Wichita State College basketball participant and sixth all-time main scorer, serves because the group’s head coach. Devin Brown is a former collegiate monitor and subject athlete who competed for Abilene Christian College and Clayton State College. When he’s not serving to handle the Clutch, he oversees his IT consulting enterprise Pure Sources Consultants.
“I’m the nerdy man by day and the basketball man by evening,” he mentioned.
The 2 pals and San Antonians have recognized one another for about 20 years and have launched a number of different enterprise ventures, together with a advertising and gross sales firm.
In placing the Clutch collectively, Perez defined that TBL posted on social media about tryouts, and practically 50 gamers responded. “From there, we whittled it right down to 12. They’re primarily former school gamers, however there’s no age restrict or particular necessities,” he mentioned.
“The gamers are paid relying on expertise, negotiations, and our general price range,” mentioned Brown. “A few of these people have performed professionally abroad.”
“We might have launched the group in Austin or another metropolis, however San Antonio remains to be a small metropolis with an enormous basketball fanbase,” Brown continued. “The Spurs can solely pack so many within the Frost Financial institution Heart, and never everybody can afford tickets. We’re offering good household leisure at an reasonably priced value.”
The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs is town’s solely different skilled sports activities group. There are additionally a number of minor league groups, together with the San Antonio Missions (MiLB) and the San Antonio FC (USL). As metropolis and county officers proceed to discover growing Undertaking Marvel, an expansive new downtown sports activities and leisure district, there’s an apparent group starvation for extra sports-related choices.
The group’s subsequent scheduled sport is at this time in opposition to the Enid Outlaws. Tickets begin at $12.
The Clutch at the moment performs out of Theodore Roosevelt Excessive College within the North East Impartial College District, which Perez mentioned was a purposeful alternative.
“We wish to not solely entertain the group but additionally join and provides again,” he mentioned.
Brown explains that he’s an energetic member of Management San Antonio, a corporation that identifies and develops group leaders and helps them launch initiatives to profit the group. He mentioned he needs to proceed this effort by means of the Clutch.
“When Jason introduced this chance to me, I wished it to be a constructive pressure for the individuals who reside right here,” he mentioned.
Brown mentioned he and Perez are finalizing a partnership with a YMCA youth sports activities program. The group can be partnering with Youth Code Jam, a San Antonio group that provides inclusive pc science and coding packages for teenagers. Shifting ahead, they hope to develop extra outreach and youth mentorship packages and companion with different native nonprofits.
As well as, Brown mentioned that the Clutch not solely nurtures expertise and gives a chance for group members to make a dwelling taking part in the sport they love, however it additionally serves as a possible launchpad for an NBA profession.
Lindy Waters III, for instance, began with the Enid Outlaws of TBL and went on to play for the Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons. Kylor Kelley performed for the TBL’s Salem Capitals and has since performed for a number of NBA groups, together with the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.
Along with the gamers, the Clutch additionally affords alternatives for front-office personnel, together with assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, and announcers.
“It’s an incredible showcase,” Brown mentioned. “If any of those folks wish to transfer as much as an even bigger skilled group, just like the Spurs or Dallas Mavericks, they now have expertise by means of the San Antonio Clutch they’ll placed on an utility. It’s just like the NBA, simply on a smaller scale.”
As market house owners, Brown and Perez financially help the group and in addition assist oversee gross sales, advertising, and sponsorships.
“It’s an enormous enterprise for us. However the larger the chance, the larger the reward,” Brown mentioned. “It’s additionally an incredible icebreaker. I used to be at a networking occasion, and somebody requested me what I do. Once I advised them I’m a part-owner of knowledgeable basketball group, everybody wished to listen to extra about it. It’s an incredible dialog starter.”
“We’ve been profitable in different ventures, and we’re going to achieve success at this,” Perez added. “It’s our first yr, and there are going to be detours right here and there, however we’re very excited in regards to the future. Proper now, it’s all about placing out the product and seeing what the audiences like.”
