The WNBL, the top-flight Australian women’s basketball league, will expand to nine teams in the 2026-27 season after Tasmania was awarded a license.
The expansion license was secured by the Tasmania JackJumpers, which entered the men’s National Basketball League in the 2021–22 season.
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The men’s side won the 2024 title and achieved a sold-out home season last year.
Despite being managed by the JackJumpers, the women's team will have a different name and branding.
They will share facilities with the men's team in Hobart and intend to play at least half of their matches in the north of the state.
The club have already announced health insurance company St Lukes as the foundation principal partner of the Tasmanian team.
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By GlobalDataIt will be the first time the league has featured a Tasmanian-based team since 1996, when the Hobart Islanders' 10-year stint ended.
Jennie Sager, WNBL CEO, said: “With the new energy, investment, and passion in the WNBL, it is the right time for Tasmania to return to the league. For the first time since 1996, Tasmanian WNBL fans can watch a game in their home state.
“We thank the JackJumpers for believing in our vision and backing the future of women’s basketball.”
Tamanian JackJumpers CEO, Christine Finnegan, added: “We are thrilled to have secured the first expansion license and to now begin to build a successful and sustainable women’s program, building on the strong foundations that have already been established and expand our footprint and impact on the state.”
With Tasmania confirmed as the WNBL’s ninth team, the league has also officially launched its search for a 10th club.
Expressions of Interest are now officially open to prospective owners, organisations, stakeholders, and investors.
With Brisbane hosting the 2032 Olympics, the league has a “strong ambition” to see the 10th license awarded to the Brisbane or Gold Coast market.
Sager said: “There is significant interest from investors and stakeholders who are excited by the growth they are seeing in women’s basketball and it’s a powerful reminder that the appetite for the game has never been stronger.
“We’re not just looking for a new team – we're looking for a partner who will help us build a league that is strong, sustainable, and a source of pride for decades to come.”
Australia's longest-running domestic women's sports competition has been an eight-team league since 2016.
The move comes following increased investment in the WNBL. Since April, the league has negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that will more than double the WNBL's minimum wage and create pay parity with the NBL, while it has also increased investment in broadcast, media, and marketing.
In November 2024, a consortium composed of the NBL and the Wollemi Capital Group (WCG) investment firm completed an acquisition of the WNBL, purchasing 78% of the league from previous owner Basketball Australia, which retains a minority stake.
The consortium took full control of the operation of the WNBL competition on April 2, 2025.
The NBL, meanwhile, is currently 94% owned by Australian telecommunications mogul Larry Kestelman, whose LK Group acquired 51% of the competition in 2015 and almost immediately helped to steer it out of significant financial peril through a series of shrewd partnership and TV rights agreements that have seen attendances and public interest grow over the following decade.
Notably, a Tasmanian team will also enter Australian football’s AFL in 2028 after all 18 existing clubs unanimously voted to grant the competition's 19th license to the state back in 2023.
