NYC MSBL

 VISION

The Vision of the NYCMSBL is to be the leading Middle School basketball league in America.

MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission of the New York City Middle School Basketball League is to provide a safe environment where middle school children can develop their athletic and academic skills.  This competitive program is also designed to build positive character traits, such as accountability and teamwork through basketball.  The league goal is to create a motivated student out of every student athlete through strict academic and behavior codes enforced by the league. 

HISTORY
The New York City Middle School Basketball League was formed in 1998 when two Bronx middle school teachers Mike Connors and Teddy Rivera (RIP) recognized the dire need for after school sports at their schools.  They formed basketball squads and began coaching the kids on a volunteer basis.  Home and away games were played and it was an instant hit.  At the end of the first school year the program expanded to a four school league in District 11.  After the first few years the league added Junior Varsity under the direction of Earl Menard and the league structure was complete.  The younger student-athletes in 6th and 7th grades compete in Junior Varsity. 

The league has grown each year since and the 2023/24 season was the biggest and best yet.  The program now boasts 240 schools and 400 teams throughout NYC serving close to 7,000 public school boys and girls.  Basketball Champions were crowned in boys and girls in each borough. The NYC Championships Finals were held at Brandeis H.S. in Manhattan where the Finals were of the highest standard.  The Girls Varsity champion for 2024 is I.S. 34 from Staten Island.  The Boys Varsity champions for 2024 were newcomers to the league from Queens, I.S. 109.  In the NYC BJV title game MS 355 (Storm/Sousa Campus) from The Bronx took the championship.  In the GJV division IS 34 of Staten Island made history becoming the first NYC Middle School to  pull off the Girls Varsity & JV Championships in the same season.  The league held All-Star events and the Champions Dinner was held in June on Staten Island.

The league is run by many current and former NYC DOE employees who are also coaches who continue to give their time and energy to serve the children of NYC.  The league committee also works very hard to ensure the smooth running of schedules and events.  The league is a 501c Non-Profit organization and will continue to try and meet the huge demand for our programs in Middle Schools throughout New York City.   

The league has strict academic and behavior codes which are enforced using student grades.  These codes are designed to ensure our mission to produce great student-athletes is never compromised.  The committee is dedicated to offering our programs to every middle school in the city and we hope that basketball can be the carrot that motivates our players to be the best possible people in and out of the classroom.    

Mike Connors
NYCMSBL Commissioner