Njarðvík men's basketball

The Njarðvík men's basketball team, commonly known as Njarðvík or UMFN, is the men's basketball department of Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur, based in the town of Reykjanesbær in Iceland.[2] It is one of the most successful men's team in Icelandic basketball, winning 17 national championships.[3] The team, then known as Íþróttafélag Keflavíkurflugvallar (ÍKF), was one of the founding members of the Icelandic top league in 1952 and won the first Icelandic men's championship that same year.[4] In 1969 the team merged into Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur and became its basketball department.[5][6][7]

Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur
Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur logo
LeaguesÚrvalsdeild karla
HistoryÍKF
(1952–1969)
UMFN
(1969–present)
ArenaIceMar-Höllin
LocationReykjanesbær, Iceland
Team colorsgreen, white
   
PresidentHalldór Karlsson[1]
Head coachRúnar Ingi Erlingsson
Assistant(s)Logi Gunnarsson
Championships17 Icelandic championships
WebsiteUMFN.is

Rivalries

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Keflavík

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The rivalry between the two teams from the neighbouring towns of Keflavík and Njarðvík began in earnest when Keflavík ÍF won its first national championship in 1989. From 1991 to 2010, the teams faced three times in the Úrvalsdeild finals and four times in the Icelandic Cup final.[8][9]

Colours

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The original uniform colours of the club were blue and white. In late 1973 the basketball department was in need of new uniforms and due to lack of funds they decided to select a colour that no other team was using, so they wouldn't have to buy two sets of uniforms. There were three colours to choose from but as the three selectors were all Boston Celtics fans they decided to choose green uniforms. The green colour has been in use since then, except for the 1989-90 season when they played in the orange colour of its biggest sponsor, Hagkaup.[10]

Arena

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After moving to Njarðvík, the team played its home games at Íþróttahús Njarðvíkur, [11] commonly nicknamed Ljónagryfjan (English: The Lion's Den)[12][13][14][15] In July 2019, Njarðvík signed a 2-year sponsorship deal with Njarðtak, naming the arena the Njarðtaks-gryfjan (English: The Njarðtak's Den).[16] In 2024, the team into a new arena, named Stapaskóli.[17]

European record

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Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1976–77 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup 1Q   Boroughmuir Barr 77–78 66–87 143–165  
1989–90 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup 1Q   Bayer 04 Leverkusen 81–112 74–104 155–216  
1991–92 FIBA EuroLeague 2Q   KK Cibona 76–111 74–97 150–208  

Trophies and awards

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Trophies

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Úrvalsdeild karla

  • Winners (17): 19521, 19531, 19561, 19581, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006

Icelandic Basketball Cup

  • Winners (9): 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2021

Icelandic Super Cup

  • Winners (7): 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006

Company Cup

  • Winners (3): 2001, 2003, 2005

Division I

  • Winners (3): 19651, 19691, 1972
  1. As ÍKF

Individual awards

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Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Head coaches

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Reserve team

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Njarðvík's reserve team, called Njarðvík-b, regularly plays in the Icelandic 3rd-tier 2. deild karla.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Stjórn UMFN
  2. ^ Félög - Njarðvík
  3. ^ Úrvalsdeild
  4. ^ Fyrstu Íslandsmót karla og kvenna
  5. ^ Ytri aðstæður og innri efling starfsins
  6. ^ Fram stofnar körfuknattleiksdeild
  7. ^ ÍR og KR í vandræðum
  8. ^ Freyr Bjarnason (26 December 2020). "Unnu 15 af 20 Íslandsmeistaratitlum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  9. ^ Freyr Bjarnason (27 December 2020). "Vita að menn eru að fara í stríð". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Stór stund og ólýsanleg stemming í bænum". Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur í 70 ár (in Icelandic). Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur. p. 49. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Félög - Njarðvík". KKI.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  12. ^ Tómas Þór Þórðarson (7 March 2017). "Ljónagryfjan stóð í ljósum Loga: "Fæ mér árskort í Njarðvík ef hann spilar til 45 ára aldurs"". Vísir.is. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Góður sigur Hauka á KR-ingum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 7 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  14. ^ Skúli Sigurðsson (21 November 2009). ""Kisukassi" Njarðvíkinga gleymdur og grafinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Ármenningar sluppu lifandi úr "ljónagryfjunni"". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 3 February 1976. pp. 18, 23. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  16. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (5 July 2019). "Engin Ljónagryfja á næsta tímabili". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  17. ^ Ágúst Orri Arnarson (17 June 2024). "Njarðvík yfirgefur Ljónagryfjuna og fær nýjan heimavöll afhentan í sumar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Lokahóf". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 13 April 1987. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  19. ^ Aron Guðmundsson (15 May 2024). "Rúnar Ingi skiptir um stól í Njarðvík". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  20. ^ "2. deild karla". KKI.is. Retrieved 5 October 2017.