KITCHENER, ON (November 28, 2023) The KW Titans made their mark this week as what is believed to be the first not-for-profit pro basketball team in Canadian sports history.
A year to the day after the announcement that they were taking over the city’s professional basketball franchise, David and Kate Schooley made KW Titans ownership 100 percent not-for-profit, realizing their goal of making the team 100-percent community owned in ten years or less. While the KW Titans franchise is not yet profitable, all profits the team does realize will be directed back into local youth sports.
“This is a legacy project for us,” say David. “We have a unique opportunity to unite our rapidly growing basketball community and make a difference in the lives of youth. We’re offering the highest caliber of professional basketball play outside the NBA, and our coaches and players are out in the community, inspiring youth on a daily basis, 12 months of the year.”
The cornerstone of the Titans’ community involvement is their partnership with YMCA of Three Rivers. As of this fall, the KW Titans are co-leading Teen Ball drop-in programs in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph, with plans underway to expand to Stratford. Titans Skills Academy operates out of the same YMCA locations, providing opportunities for youth to sharpen their skills and train with professional players and coaches. The Schooleys are in daily discussion with groups across the region to expand these types of opportunities.
“Our grassroots involvement has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and we’ve been fortunate to receive amazing feedback from fans, families and the community as a whole,” says Kate. “Our entire organization is eager to give back, and we’re building something unique. The Titans are more than a sports team, we’re a diverse community joined by the heart. Game day at the Aud is an awesome experience, but those twenty, two-hour intervals are almost a by-product of the larger movement we’re trying to create. This is bigger than basketball.”
The Schooleys took the reins of the KW Titans in November 2022, twelve weeks before the start of Season 6. “With an amazing team behind us, we pulled together a launch that we were told should take a year,” says David. “We were behind the eight ball. Our opponents were well into their season when we were starting training camp, but we ended up winning five of our last eight regular season games. Now we’re getting set to play in the new Basketball Super League, and signing talent that fans will be excited about.”
The KW Titans’ not-for-profit announcement comes on the heels of their Five-City Food Bank Challenge with the YMCA, and mid-way through the release of Flipping the Titans, a 6-episode docu-series rolling out on YouTube. The series tells the story of the Titans’ return to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium (The Aud) under the Schooley’s leadership. Produced by 519 Films, it has been streaming on Bell Fibe TV1 since March.
With so much going on, the not-for-profit handover has almost been lost in the shuffle. The official switch to non-profit status was made Friday, November 24th, 2023, exactly one year to the day of the press conference announcing the Schooley’s takeover of the team. It wasn’t planned that way, but according to David and Kate, it seems serendipitous.
To learn more about the team or purchase tickets, visit kwtitans.com. The Season 7 home opener is set for December 30th, 2023.
For more information, please contact:
David Schooley
CEO
Titans Basketball Corp. (KW Titans)
519-577-1212