Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Single-game Upshot League final at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, pairing first and second place regular-season finishers.
- Jacksonville Waves lead the four-team league at 17-4, holding a five and a half game advantage.
- Championship week features a coaches' clinic, a youth clinic, a fan fest, and an entrepreneurship event before the final.
- A ticketed luncheon will feature women's basketball icons Cheryl Miller and Tamika Catchings; tickets go on sale in early August.
- League announced expansion to Nashville and Baltimore for 2027, possible growth beyond six teams; Upshot MVP trophy named for Ann Meyers Drysdale.
Updated July 22, 2026, 12:27 p.m. ET
- Jacksonville will host the first-ever Upshot League women’s basketball championship game on August 29.
- The championship week will include a youth clinic, a fan fest, and an awards presentation.
- The Jacksonville Waves are currently the top team in the four-team league.
Championship basketball in Jacksonville is coming… up.
Jacksonville will serve as the host for the inaugural championship game for Upshot League women’s basketball, commissioner Donna Orender announced on July 22.
The Upshot League single-game final will take place inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, pairing first-place and second-place finishers in the regular season in the four-team league.
“We are so happy to be in this space of opportunity,” Orender said.
While all four teams are mathematically alive for the playoffs, the final has a strong chance to become a hometown showcase for the Jacksonville Waves. At 17-4 midway through the regular season, the Waves hold a lead of five and a half games.
Vice president of basketball operations Taj McWilliams-Franklin pointed to the league’s competitive balance as an early success, with 70 percent of games decided by 10 points or less.
The week’s festivities will include a coaches’ clinic on Aug. 28 and a youth clinic on Aug. 29, as well as a ticketed luncheon that will include women’s basketball giants Cheryl Miller and Tamika Catchings. Tickets for that event, Orender said, will go on sale in early August.
Orender described the event as “an unbelievably fantastic experience centered around outstanding competition, 1,000 percent effort and a community that is actually focused on sharing joy with each other.”
The pregame schedule includes a fan fest and an entrepreneurship event at 5 p.m. Aug. 29 before the opening tip-off. Also coming during the championship week will be presentation of the Upshot MVP trophy, to be named in honor of Olympian and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honoree Ann Meyers Drysdale.
The Upshot league have announced expansion plans to Nashville, Tenn., and to Baltimore in 2027, although Orender said there is the possibility of expansion beyond six franchises. Future playoff structures, she said, will potentially change as the league expands.
“The door is wide open to what comes next,” Orender said.
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