The Ulster Elks Men’s Superleague Basketball team is about to embark on its second season in the top flight of the sport, with the help of some new players and a new sponsor.

The University of Ulster side has recently acquired the talents of four international basketball scholars as well as signing a new three-year sponsorship deal with Solo Group, a UK-wide construction services company.

Americans Matt Betley and Clint Nagel join two scholars from Ireland, Ian McLoughlin and Ian O’Boyle, on the team which begins the season on Saturday 4 October away to Neptune of Cork. The scholars are all beginning Masters degrees at the Jordanstown campus.

Nagel is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University and left full-time work in Ohio to join the international scholarship programme, and study a Masters in Business Administration run by the Ulster Business School.

Betley, a graduate of Lafayette University Pennsylvania, is studying a Masters in Sports Management along with McLoughlin and O’Boyle.

O’Boyle has just returned from a successful European programme with the Ireland senior men’s team and despite the offer of professional contracts in Germany he opted for the academic scholarship at Ulster.

Dr Deirdre Brennan, coach of the Elks is excited by the prospect of a new season and said Ulster’s Superleague programme is the most innovative in the country.

“We’re all one year wiser this season, we know what to expect,” Dr Brennan said.

“Our Ulster Sports Academy Scholarships have proved to be very attractive and have, as expected, served to lure some of the best players on offer. Although we are only in year two of our five-year plan it is crucial that we build on last year’s experience and move up another gear.”

Ulster’s Superleague programme has also been successful in securing a main team sponsor in Solo Group.

Gary Elkin, Managing Director at Solo Group, said: “We at Solo Group are impressed with the ambitions of Ulster University to be the number one university for sport in Ireland and we want to be part of this. The commitment made by players, coaching and administrative staff is very significant and we are confident that our three-year relationship with them will help bring basketball to a new level.”

Dr Brennan said the team is also continuing to work hard for the upcoming season: “With the assistance of Sports Institute Northern Ireland strength and conditioning scholar, Thomas Turner, we’ve been able to raise the bar on our off-court preparation. We are continuing to try to professionalise our approach which is a major step up for a university programme and requires significant commitment from our student athletes.”

The Ulster Elks first home game on Saturday 11 October at the High Performance Centre at the Jordanstown campus, promises to be a family extravaganza, with pre-match entertainment, a half-time novelty games for children, and mascot ‘Elkman’ there to support the team.

For further information, please contact:

Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter