For five seasons, the Wisconsin Flyers brought professional basketball to the Fox River Valley region, Oshkosh in particular. One level below the National Basketball Association, the Continental Basketball Association was looking to grow and expand across the United States, having most of his franchises for the 1981-82 season located either in the east (Lancaster, PA (Lightning); Rochester, NY (Zeniths); Atlantic City, NJ (Hi Rollers; Bangor, ME (Maine Lumberjacks)) and the west (Great Falls, MT (Montana Golden Nuggets); Billings, MT (Volcanos); Anchorage, AK (Northern Knights); Lethbridge, Alberta (Alberta Dusters). The league, in existence since 1946, has been predominantly located in the northeast section of the country, before venturing west in 1977 with the Anchorage Northern Knights, and two years later with the Hawaii Volcanos. But in 1982, the look and flavor of the CBA was dramatically changed, and changed forever, with the addition of new franchises in the midwest - one of those being located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The CBA added franchises for the 1982-83 season - the Albany (NY) Patroons, Detroit Spirits, Ohio (Lima) Mixers, Wyoming (Casper) Wildcatters, and the Reno (NV) Bighorns. The Alberta Dusters moved to Las Vegas to become the Silvers. The Atlantic City H Rollers quietly folded. The Wisconsin Flyers were the direct result of one man's vision - Killian Spanbauer, the owner of a local sporting goods chain, who had announced in 1981 that he wanted to form a 6-8 team league in the Upper Midwest under the auspices of the CBA. Teams would be located in Oshkosh, La Crosse, Eau Claire, St. Paul (MN), Grand Rapids (MI) and Springfield (IL). Nothing more was heard about those efforts, but in the spring of 1982, the CBA expansion efforts brought Oshkosh into the fold. Already having added teams in Detroit, Albany, and Casper, WY, the league made it official on May 24th 1982 - the league would have a franchise in Oshkosh. For the next five seasons, CBA standouts like Joe Kopicki, Steve Burks, Greg Jones, Joe Merten, Jose Slaughter, McKinley Singleton, Dale Wilkinson, Darrell Browder, Tommy Davis and Kevin Graham, along with a CBA coaching legend in Bill Klucas, would bring excitement, as well as two playoff seasons, to the Fox Valley. The team nearly moved after the 1984-85 season, before a new group of investors joined Spanbauer to try and breathe new life into the team. Attempts to add to the fan base by scheduling games in Neenah (1985) and Appleton (1986) may have actually alienated the original group of supporters and season ticket holders, and, by the spring of 1987, the future of the team looked bleak, with about 250 season ticket holders. After attendance peaked in 1984-85 (31,266 total, 1,303 per game), it had slumped to 927 per game (22,237 total) by 1986-87. With cities like Cedar Rapids (IA), Sioux Falls (SD) and Tyler (TX) looking for CBA teams, the handwriting was on the wall. In late March 1987, Spanbauer reportedly traveled to Rochester, Minn., to tour the 5,500-seat Mayo Center - and on May 4th 1987 it became official - the Rochester Flyers were announced.