Miami Sol

{{Infobox basketball club

| name = Miami Sol

| current =

| logo = MiamiSol.png

| leagues = WNBA

| conference = Eastern

| founded = 2000

| dissolved = 2002

| history = Miami Sol
2000–2002

| arena = American Airlines Arena

| location = Miami, Florida

| colors = Fiery red, yellow, black, orange, white
{{color box|#BA2434}} {{color box|#F1A724}} {{color box|#010101}} {{color box|#E97118}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}}

| coach = Ron Rothstein

}}

The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems.

History

The city of Miami was granted one of the first four expansion teams of the WNBA in June 1999 along with Indianapolis, Seattle, and Portland.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108404974/womens-basketball-takes-shot-on-miami/|first=Tom|last=D'Angelo|work=The Palm Beach Post|title=Women's basketball takes shot on Miami|date=June 8, 1999|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=A1|via=Newspapers.com}} In their short history, the Miami Sol was coached for three seasons by Ron Rothstein.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108405152/return-trip-to-miami-rothstein-eager-to/|first=Barry|last=Jackson|work=The Miami Herald|title=Return trip to Miami, Rothstein eager to join WNBA|date=October 9, 1999|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=3D|via=Newspapers.com}} For their inaugural 2000 season, the Sol finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 13–19.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108405513/sol-end-season-with-overtime-thriller/|first=Dave|last=Andrews|work=The Palm Beach Post|title=Sol end season with overtime thriller|date=August 10, 2000|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=2C|via=Newspapers.com}}

Players such as Debbie Black, Elena Baranova, Sandy Brondello, Ruth Riley, and Sheri Sam led them to a 20–12 record and a trip to the playoffs in 2001, but lost in the first round to the New York Liberty in three games, the only playoff appearance in franchise history.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108405668/stings-win-streak-at-seven-with-win/|work=The Tennessean|title=Sting's win streak at seven with win|date=August 15, 2001|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=7C|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108405783/liberty-advances-to-eastern-conference-f/|agency=Associated Press|work=Democrat and Chronicle|title=Liberty advances to Eastern Conference finals|date=August 22, 2001|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=3D|via=Newspapers.com}} After losing to the New York Liberty in the playoffs, the Miami Sol finished the 2002 season with a 15–17 record.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108405911/for-sol-a-strange-season-tough-ending/|first=Jamey|last=Eisenberg|work=The Palm Beach Post|title=For Sol, a strange season, tough ending|date=August 15, 2002|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=3C|via=Newspapers.com}}

That season proved to be the Sol's last. Citing the inability to raise enough funds to continue operation under the WNBA's new restructuring agreement, the organization ceased operations in November 2002.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108406088/lack-of-support-scuttles-the-sol/|first=Sharon|last=Robb|work=South Florida Sun Sentinel|title=Lack of support scuttles the Sol|date=November 28, 2002|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=1C|via=Newspapers.com}} The team formally folded in January 2003 after the WNBA announced players from both the Sol and Portland Fire would be placed in a spring dispersal draft.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108406422/sol-players-to-be-dispersed/|first=Jamey|last=Eisenberg|work=The Palm Beach Post|title=Sol players to be dispersed|date=January 28, 2003|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=2C|via=Newspapers.com}} The team finished with a .500 franchise record of 48 wins and 48 losses. The other Florida team, the Orlando Miracle, ceased operations after the 2002 season and was relocated to Connecticut as the Connecticut Sun, adopting a nickname and logo very similar to the Miami Sol.

After the team's folding, its players found success elsewhere in the league. After being reassigned to the Detroit Shock, Ruth Riley won two WNBA championships in 2003 and 2006. Betty Lennox and Sandy Brondello won a WNBA championship with the Seattle Storm in 2004, with Lennox winning the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.

=Uniforms=

The Sol's road uniforms were fiery red, with the team name emblazoned in white on the chest and a WNBA ball in place of the hole in the letter "O". The home jerseys featured the same design, only with the colors inverted.

=Name=

The team's nickname, Sol, is Spanish and Portuguese for "sun" and was unveiled on January 7, 2000.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108405296/wnbas-sol-unveils-logo-in-front-of-150/|first=D.L.|last=Cummings|work=The Miami Herald|title=WNBA's Sol unveils logo in front of 1,500|date=January 8, 2000|accessdate=August 27, 2022|page=5D|via=Newspapers.com}} The name played off the Miami area's large Hispanic population and its "brother" NBA team, the Miami Heat.

Season-by-season records

class="wikitable" style="font size:95%; text-align: center; margin:1em auto;"
rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" \|Season !rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" \|Team !rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="background:#eee;" \|Conference !colspan="3" style="background:#eee;" \|Regular Season !rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" \|Playoff Results
style="background:#eee;"\|W !style="background:#eee;"\|L !style="background:#eee;"\|PCT
colspan="8" align=center bgcolor="#990000 " \| Miami Sol
align="center" !style="background:#eee;"\| 2000 \| 2000 \| style="width: 10%"\|East \| 6th \| 13 \| 19 \| .406 \| Did not qualify
align="center" !style="background:#eee;"\| 2001 \| 2001 \| style="width: 10%"\|East \| 3rd \| 20 \| 12 \| .625 \| Lost Conference Semifinals (New York, 1–2)
align="center" !style="background:#eee;"\| 2002 \| 2002 \| style="width: 10%"\|East \| 6th \| 15 \| 17 \| .469 \| Did not qualify
colspan="4" style="background:#eee;"\|Regular Season \|style="background:#eee;"\|48 \|style="background:#eee;"\|48 \|style="background:#eee;"\|.500 \|style="background:#eee;"\| 0 Conference Championships
colspan="4" style="background:#eee;"\|Playoffs \|style="background:#eee;"\|1 \|style="background:#eee;"\|2 \|style="background:#eee;"\|.333 \|style="background:#eee;"\| 0 WNBA Championships

class="wikitable" style="font size:95%; text-align: center; margin:1em auto;"

rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" |Season

!rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" |Team

!rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="background:#eee;" |Conference

!colspan="3" style="background:#eee;" |Regular Season

!rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" |Playoff Results

style="background:#eee;"|W

!style="background:#eee;"|L

!style="background:#eee;"|PCT

colspan="8" align=center bgcolor="#990000 " | Miami Sol

align="center"

!style="background:#eee;"| 2000