The Jacksonville-based UpShot League of professional women’s basketball teams is set to begin play May 15 with $40 million in investments, the league said May 6.
During a news conference, league co-founder Andy Kaufmann said the league had attracted 90 investors and financial partners for its inaugural season. Formation of the league was announced in January 2025 by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, which owns, operates and manages the league.
Kaufmann is CEO of Zawyer, which also owns and operates minor-league hockey teams the Jacksonville Icemen, Savannah Ghost Pirates and Charlotte Checkers, plus other interests such as the Community First Igloo in Jacksonville and the minor-league baseball Gastonia (North Carolina) Ghost Peppers.
Kaufmann said the league’s revenue model is based mostly on sponsorships and ticket sales versus media-rights deals, merchandise sales and other streams.
“It’s based on sustainability,” he said.
The UpShot League’s investors include Tamika Catchings, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA player who led the Indiana Fever to the league title in 2012; Cheryl Miller, a Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist; and Ann Meyers Drysdale, former women’s basketball player, Olympian and WNBA/NBA executive.
Donna Orender, president of the WNBA from 2005 to 2011, is the UpShot League commissioner. She runs a Jacksonville Beach consulting and advisory firm called Orender Unlimited.
The four teams are scheduled to play a 34-game regular season followed by championships in late August.
League play is set to begin with the Jacksonville Waves playing the Charlotte Crown at 7 p.m. May 15 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at wavesupshot.com.
The Savannah Steel and Greensville Groove are scheduled to play at 7 that evening in North Carolina.
During the news conference, Orender announced that Japan-based sporting equipment manufacturer Molten Corp. had signed a sponsorship deal with the league. She said details of the agreement would be released in coming days.
Expansion teams in Baltimore and Nashville, Tennessee, are expected to begin play in 2027.