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The ULEB League Rankings are the rankings for each of the different European regional and domestic basketball leagues of the countries that participate in Europe's international continental professional basketball competitions that are held under the ULEB zone umbrella, such as the Euroleague and the Eurocup. FIBA Europe's top competition, the EuroChallenge, also falls under the ULEB rankings system.
Top ranked clubs from the different domestic and regional leagues compete in Europe's three continental professional basketball competitions, the first tier Euroleague competition, the second tier Eurocup competition, and the third tier competition, called the EuroChallenge. The EuroChallenge competition is run by FIBA Europe, but with the cooperation of ULEB it also works under the ULEB domestic and regional league rankings system. Generally, top ranked domestic and regional clubs compete in the Euroleague, while higher end mid-level domestic and regional clubs compete in the Eurocup. Usually, mid-level domestic and regional clubs compete in the EuroChallenge. Lower ranked domestic and regional clubs do not compete in the 3 continental club competitions.
History
Over the history of Europe-wide club basketball competitions, dating back to the old FIBA Champions Cup (now known as the Euroleague), which began with the 1957-58 season, three European national domestic leagues stood out in prominence under the old ratings system that was based only on basketball game competition results and was originally overseen by FIBA and then later by ULEB. The Italian Lega A, which was the top league historically, the Spanish ACB, which was the second best league historically, and the Greek HEBA A1, which was the third best league historically. The old ratings system which was used from 1957-2007, included only basketball game competition related results.
Also, the old Soviet Union League and the old Yugoslavian YUBA Liga, were additional leagues that historically were amongst the elite of Europe before they folded. The old Yugoslavian YUBA Liga exists in a similar form today as the Adriatic NLB Liga and the old Soviet Union League was the forerunner of today's VTB United League. These are still considered to be the five strongest European national domestic and regional leagues today.
New ULEB ratings system criteria
The rankings are updated once every 3 years and use the previous 5 years of results to determine the strength of each league. Results from domestic and regional leagues, as well as the 3 international continental competitions are all used. However, starting with the 2007-08 season, basketball game competition results are not all that are used to determine each league's overall rank. Television revenues and ratings, arena attendance figures, and arena seating capacities are also used to determine the rankings of each league. The ratio distribution is based on 60 percent basketball game competition results and 40 percent TV revenues/ratings, attendance figures, and arena capacities.
Arena standards and qualifications
There are also arena rules for inclusion in the continental club competitions. Starting with the 2011-12 season, to compete in the first tier Euroleague competition, clubs must play in arenas with capacities of at least 10,000 people. To compete in the second tier Eurocup competition, clubs must play in arenas with capacities of at least 5,000 people. To compete in the third tier EuroChallenge competition, clubs must play in arenas with capacities of at least 3,500 people. Also, clubs must be in good standing with FIBA Europe's club rules and regulations. This means that clubs that have been punished in court for unpaid financial obligations to players and have refused to meet them cannot compete in any of the three continental competitions.
Current ULEB European national domestic and regional basketball league rankings
The rankings will again be updated before the 2011-12 season. The rankings are updated once every three years and take into account the results from the previous five seasons. So the rankings are not based on a per season, or current season basis.
The rankings are based on 60 percent basketball game competition results and 40 percent TV revenues/ratings, attendance figures, and arena capacities. It is important to note that because of this, the league rankings are not based merely on the basketball strength of each respective league. So the rankings do not necessarily purely reflect the level of play in each league.
For example, the Greek HEBA A1 is currently ranked higher than the Italian Lega A based on the level of play results in basketball game competitions, but the Italian Lega A has on average better TV ratings, bigger arenas, and better attendance figures. Since ULEB counts that with a higher weighted precedence than basketball game competition results (by a ratio of 60-40), the Italian Lega A is therefore then ranked higher than the Greek HEBA A1 in the overall league rankings, even though the HEBA A1 is rated higher basketball-wise. Because of this, certain leagues that have good TV ratings, large arenas and strong attendance figures, like for example, the Spanish ACB, the Italian Lega A, the French Pro A and the German BBL have a built-in advantage in the rankings.
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Currently rated as A level European basketball leagues by ULEB. |
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Currently rated as B level European basketball leagues by ULEB. |
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Currently rated as non-Euroleague C level European basketball leagues by ULEB. |
European-wide international continental basketball league rankings
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Europe's top European-wide A level club competition. The premier basketball league in the world excluding the NBA. |
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Europe's second level European-wide B level club competition. One of the strongest basketball leagues in Europe. |
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Europe's third level European-wide C level club competition. The highest level club competition that is run by FIBA Europe. |
See also
External links
Europe
Soviet Union League
Spanish Liga Nacional
Italian Serie A
Yugoslavian YUBA Liga
Greek HEBA A1
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