The newest franchise in basketball could be Tasmania's ticket to a revival in the WNBL in the coming years following "high-level" discussions.
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The Tasmania JackJumpers have held preliminary discussions with Basketball Australia about potentially fielding a WNBL side under the JackJumpers name in future seasons.
The model would be similar to the one seen in the AFL and AFLW which sees clubs operate under a 'one club' mentality and in many cases, share an administration and training base.
Tasmania JackJumpers chief executive Simon Brookhouse confirmed that the team was open to having a WNBL franchise in the future.
"We have made some specific inquiries to Basketball Australia as to whether that would be possible and whether we could have a licence alongside the men," he said.
"There's a lot of efficiency in terms of having the one club, in terms of administration and other things rather than setting a separate club, we've already got the groundwork in place in terms of be able to have a venue and the relevant staff ... it'd really just be bolstering that to manage a women's program.
"It's a bit of a fact-finding mission more than anything else but I think for basketball in this state to have an elite pathway for men and women to the elite level, I don't think there'd be any negativity around that."
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That new side could come sooner than fans may think, with Brookhouse believing the 2022-23 or '23-24 season could be in play.
"My gut feel is could you do it for next season? That might be difficult but the season after that wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility," he said.
"That's really in the Basketball Australia's hands in terms of when and if they want to expand their competition beyond what it currently is."
That timeline would line-up with the timeframe Basketball Tasmania believes is feasible for a state WNBL franchise.
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Previously, Basketball Tasmania has said they would support any bid that comes from the state after holding their own discussions with the national body.
"The discussions I've had have been very high-level but they've been very positive about talking more so we'll definitely talk more to them [Basketball Australia] when the time is right and see if we can work together to make it a reality," Brookhouse said.
The state is preparing to host two WNBL games next season, set to be played between January and March next year.
The arrangement will see the Bendigo Spirit and the Southside Flyers travel south to play for the first WNBL points in the Tasmania since the Islanders represented the state almost three decades ago.
The Islanders were Tasmania's last WNBL side and after claiming the 1991 title, the team folded in 1996 after three bottom-of-the-ladder finishes in four years.
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