Zawyer Sports, the parent company of the Charlotte Checkers, will operate the new UPSHOT League.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β Charlotte will be one of four cities that’s part of a brand-new professional women’s basketball league.Β
Named the UPSHOT League, this initiative is dedicated to uniting excellence and values while empowering women in basketball. The league announced four teams for its debut season, including Charlotte, Greensboro and Jacksonville, Florida. Officials said the goal is to have six teams.Β
Zawyer Sports, the parent company of the Charlotte Checkers and Gastonia Ghost Peppers, will operate the league. Charlotte’s home games will be played at Bojangles Coliseum. Donna Orender, a former president of the WBNA, will be the UPSHOT League’s commissioner.Β
“We do this at a time when women’s sports growth is explosive,” Orender said Thursday. “There’s an unprecedented appetite for more women’s sports on TV.”
Charlotte’s team will be the first women’s basketball team in Charlotte since the WNBA’s Sting ceased operations in 2007.Β
“I was in the stands when the great Dawn Staley was playing here,” Orender said. “Guess what? There’s more to come.”Β
The UPSHOT League will launch with at least four teams, showcasing thrilling and competitive womenβs basketball played by elite athletes in markets nationwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the league will be operated by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, marking an exciting new chapter for the future of womenβs sports.
The league is set to begin play in May 2026.Β
