Bill Byrne (14 June 1936 – 6 March 2007) was a sports entrepreneur who founded the first women's professional basketball league in the United States.
Byrne was born in Stoutsville, Ohio and founded the National Scouting Association (NSA) which represented student-athletes from the collegiate and amateur ranks to seek professional football opportunities.
[8][9][11] His most notable achievement was the founding of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) which began play in December 1978.
[12] Byrne was undeterred when that league failed and attempted to launch the Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) in 1984 which lasted one season.
[13][14] Byrne and his son Hubie also worked on plans for a new football league with former NFL player Jim Spavital in 1989 that never came to fruition.