Winnipeg Sea Bears named 2023 CEBL Franchise of the Year

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Sea Bears are honoured to add two more accolades after a historic inaugural season. The organization has been named the 2023 CEBL Franchise of the Year, while the team’s president, Jason Smith, has been selected as the Team Executive of the Year, the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Tuesday afternoon.

“This is truly an award for our city. Our amazing fanbase has come together and created something special in Winnipeg. We continue to be blown away by their support and are committed to creating wonderful experiences for them on and off the court for years to come,” said Smith. 

“We’re very honoured and grateful. This success proves that it takes a village, and I want to acknowledge our staff and the league staff who helped us bring the Sea Bears to life in Winnipeg. Equally important, we wouldn’t be successful without our corporate partners and fans. This is our village and once again we say a hearty thanks to all," said David Asper, Winnipeg Sea Bears owner and chairman.

“Jason turned every challenge into a solution, maximizing the efforts and creativity of our front office staff to bring professional basketball back to Winnipeg in an outstanding way.”

These awards come shortly after the Sea Bears took home four of six major player/coach awards. In August, the team was honoured with the Most Valuable Player (Teddy Allen), the Sixth Man of the Year (Jelani Watson-Gayle), the U SPORTS Player of the Year (Simon Hildebrandt) and the Coach of the Year (Mike Taylor). 

Today, the CEBL revealed all four 2023 Business Award Winners, which also include the Edmonton Stingers (Community Champion) and Calgary Surge (Digital Excellence).
 
Award winners were voted on by different variations of groups comprised of league and team executives, including but not limited to the CEBL’s Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, and all 10 team presidents.
 
2023 CEBL BUSINESS AWARD WINNERS:
 
FRANCHISE OF THE YEAR
Awarded to the franchise that best represents the values of the CEBL through good internal governance, engagement in the community, commitment to innovation, success on the basketball court and with revenue generation, demonstration of a long-term vision for sustainable business growth, and promotion of Canadian basketball.

Winner: Winnipeg Sea Bears
 
TEAM EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
Awarded to a team executive who best lives the values of the CEBL by leading with integrity and good governance, fosters a positive organizational culture, leads a franchise that has demonstrated success on the basketball court, in the community and with the overall performance and development of their club’s business during the past year, demonstrates a long-term vision to grow their franchise in its market, and contributes to the success of the league beyond their own club while being an inspiration and valued colleague to peers around the CEBL.
 
Winner: Jason Smith, President, Winnipeg Sea Bears
 
In the team’s inaugural season in 2023 under the leadership of Owner and Chairman David Asper and President Jason Smith, the Sea Bears set strong roots in Winnipeg setting the franchise up for sustainable long-term growth. The club set multiple CEBL attendance records at Canada Life Centre this summer, including the single-game record of 10,580 fans on August 4 against Edmonton in the Play-In round of the playoffs, the single-game regular season record of 8,230 fans on July 29 against Edmonton, and the full-season attendance record of 65,609 over 11 total games.
 

The Sea Bears finished the CEBL season with a 12-8 record which tied for second-best in the entire league and earned the right to host a home playoff game. Their roster featured home-grown talent in Winnipeg-born forwards Chad Posthumus and Simon Hildebrandt who became heavily involved on the court and in the community throughout the season. The club also hosted a series of youth summer camps in partnership with Manitoba Blue Cross, welcoming kids of all ages and genders to join sessions free of charge and receive complimentary gear.
 

 
COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD
Awarded to the franchise that has demonstrated a dedication to and understanding of local communities through notable, creative, and sustainable outreach that prioritize the CEBL values of innovation, inclusion, diversity, and meaningful experiences for fans and others.
 
Winner: Edmonton Stingers
 

The Stingers ran numerous impactful initiatives in Edmonton in 2023, including replacing over 500 mesh nets around the city, raising $500,000 to refurbish public school courts, and providing 400 new basketball shoes to a local charity for youth athletes. Their more than 1,000 hours spent in the community so far this year also featured programs like their Stingers Showcase high school games, Stingers Hoop Bus, and numerous camps and clinics. The Stingers Foundation, a registered non-profit charitable arm of the club, was officially launched earlier this year and will be running the team’s portfolio of community projects moving forward.
 

 
DIGITAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Awarded to the franchise that best delivers graphic and video content that demonstrates excellence in quality of presentation and appeal, creativity and innovation, and overall consistency, while driving interactive engagement with designated targeted audiences that show a measurable impact for followers, partners, and for the franchise’s business and brand awareness. Voted 40% by quantifiable measures in-season from May 1 to August 31 and 60% by vote.
 
Winner: Calgary Surge
 
The Surge sustained monumental growth across their digital platforms in the team’s inaugural season in Calgary, including a 65.9% growth in social media followership during the season and 104% growth in newsletter subscriptions (highest league-wide). The club was also top three in the league in most quantifiable digital metric categories in 2023 and have conveyed a consistent brand voice and visual identity from the team’s inception that stemmed from an online grassroots campaign that generated thousands of responses and led to ‘Surge’ being selected as the team’s name in late 2022.

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About the Winnipeg Sea Bears
The Winnipeg Sea Bears joined the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) as an expansion franchise in 2023. The city's only professional basketball team plays out of Canada Life Centre from May to August in a 20-game regular season schedule. Winnipeg businessman and lawyer, David Asper, is the organization's owner and chairman. 

More information on the Sea Bears can be found at seabears.ca and @wpgseabears on Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn & Facebook.

About the CEBL
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 73 percent of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August.

More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.