The St. Louis Surge will be back in action at The Field House Athletic Complex at Washington University to kick off the 2019 season. Their home opener on June 8th will mark the 100th game for the organization and will begin the 8th season under Owner and General Manager, Khalia Collier. The two-time National Champions are expecting record attendance this year as they transition into an entirely new league, taking on new competition with a revamped coaching staff. The city of St. Louis has been begging for a professional basketball team ever since the loss of the former NBA St. Louis Hawks, now the Atlanta Hawks, in 1968. In 1973, the city acquired the Spirits of St. Louis, an ABA-NBA merger team. Their franchise was short lived, shutting down in 1976. Who knew that 35 years later a professional basketball team would once again reign in the city? Only this time, women’s basketball would become the talk of the town. In May 2011, the Surge finalized a new coaching structure under the new ownership of Khalia Collier, Owner and General Manager. It was at this time that Collier implemented the new model of the program, focusing on the character of the player first and talent second. It’s under this model that the Surge continues to build championship programs each year, attracting post-graduate players from diverse basketball backgrounds.