Cleveland last played host to a WNBA team in 2003, when the Cleveland Rockers franchise was still alive.
They finished with a 17-17 record on the season under head coach Dan Hughes before losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the eventual champion Detroit Shock.
It’s been more than two decades, but Cleveland is among the cities set for WNBA expansion, joining Detroit and Philadelphia. Cleveland will debut back in the WNBA in 2028.
So, will we see the Rockers rise again? Will the expansion franchise go with a new team name and branding? When will those be announced?
Well, we still don’t have answers to a lot of the questions fans have for the Cleveland WNBA expansion, but a post on X (formerly Twitter) at least shed some light on the timeline and process for choosing a new team name.
The as of now unnamed Cleveland WNBA expansion franchise said in the post that the “brand identity process is underway” and that they’ll “engage the community throughout the process.”
The official announcement of the new team name and branding is slated for 2026 — so fans still have a bit of time to wait.
It remains to be seen if the previous “Rockers” name is still in the running or if fans will be able to provide their feedback via polls or similar, but we at least have a timeline now for new WNBA branding in Cleveland.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland is getting a WNBA team back, but what will be the team name and branding?
Reporting by Ben Leibowitz, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
