The Biloxi Venom is a professional furry basketball team based in Biloxi, Mississippi USA. They play in the Southern Division of the Eastern Conference in the Furry Basketball Association (FBA). Founded in 1961 as the Biloxi Mudpuppies, they are one of the original six teams of the FBA. They have won four league championships (1967, 1971, 1991, 2021).
The Mudpuppies used to play at Crawdad Park, the oldest court in the FBA and the league's last remaining outdoor court. In the summer of 2012, as a part of the team rebranding into the Voodoo, former GM Alaina Castillo announced the construction of the brand-new Crawdad Stadium, which was completed in 2013. Twelve years later, in 2024, the team was rebranded as Biloxi Venom, keeping some of their identity and using the same team colors and updated uniforms. Until 2026, they completely redesigned their logo and uniforms due to the new owner, Kamel Awali, not liking their rebrand and new designs Niko Collins made because he quoted, "It's not my style."
In 2022, former owner Alaina Castillo stepped down, and her replacement, a shoe magnate named Niko Collins, was brought in. While he has no general idea of how the day-to-day basketball operations go, he brings a winning smile and a can-do attitude to the team. He was brought in to help continue the success of the Voodoo after their 2021 championship season. However, that did not do as well as one would hope as the team did not do so hot in Niko's first season as Owner.
The blame for the bad first was placed on bad management, lackluster trades, and a general rumor that the team has given up, and all of it was placed directly on Niko. While he has taken the blame for "what was his fault", he knows the fault is not anyone but the team and management. He knows everyone can do better than that and hopes that things turn around the following season. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the media from calling the Voodoo "washed up", "in perpetual rebuild mode" and other such things.
Dealing with Rumors.
While many would ignore rumors, there are some rumors you can't ignore. One such is a rumor started on Tweeter about Owner Niko Collins having an illegitimate son in Tennessee Moonshiners rookie Jukora Collins. Despite having denied all the allegations himself, the rumors persisted for a while until both Niko and Jukora came out with statements stating the rumors were not true. The rumor seems to have stopped spreading after both Niko and Jukora came out with a statement.
The Training Wheels Come Off. (2023-2024)
With the first season in the books, Niko took to the press to make a statement, apologizing for his lack of ability to bring Biloxi a playoff berth or even a championship. While he stated "it wasn't the goal" he set for the season when he began, he did say every season from here on, even after they get a championship is going to be a focus on consistent improvement. He promised to do a lot better with his time on social media.
As a special announcement, he announced the team would be getting a new logo to be worn on what he referred to as "statement" uniforms. These uniforms are alternate third uniforms, made to stand out or make a "statement" when worn. While it's unclear what these jerseys themselves would look like, Niko was proud to reveal it.
The Loss of Natalee Davenport and the accompanying Fallout. (2024-2025)
Owner Niko Collins got a little complacent and forgot to present an offer to PG Natalee Davenport, a key player to the offense. This cost the Voodoo big time as she would sign with the Albany Alphas. To say this had consequences would be an understatement. Fans of the former Voodoo, now Alpha, would proceed to cause a ruckus, throwing bricks at the team's HQ building in downtown Biloxi and even at some point delivering death threats to staff and their families. This caused emergency protocols to be initiated, which included doing anything not related to the game and the players remotely from home with added security. In a statement from the staff, they were "sad to see Natalee go, but wish her all the best". They would then ask for the death threats and bricks and random objects being thrown to cease.
Rebuilding... Again.
After having lost a key player, are essentially back where they started in 2021; in rebuild mode. However, while many in the press would make fun of Biloxi for losing a key piece to their success, others would recognize this was part of the business and that Biloxi just needed to hunker down and rebuild on what they have. According to the Biloxi Times-Review, "This is the first time this type of matter happened to the new Biloxi staff, and they have to push forward and take their lumps". With this in mind, it was revealed that Niko had been planning something to signify the end of an era and the beginning of something new. This would be revealed to be a name change. The Biloxi Voodoo were now the Biloxi Venom! Niko would be quoted as saying, "It's time to lay to rest and give our respects to what came before and start a new era and create a legacy of our own".
To say the Biloxi Venom are off to a bad start would be an understatement. As of the 2024-25 season, the Venom has ended the season at the bottom of the standings. The team isn't low on morale, per se, but rather it feels hopeless at times for fans. After bringing in Oriana Lowenthal as a veteran player to lead the team in the locker, the team seems to have picked up a tad bit of steam, even though they're at the bottom of the standings still.
Finally getting rid of Niko. (2025-2026)
After rebranding to the Biloxi Venom and yet another horrible season with a 20-60 record, the owner, Niko Collins, faced a disastrous 2025-2026 off-season marked by horrible trading, staff members/players leaving, especially Biloxi Venom fan favorite Oriana Lowenthal going to Bangor Tides, and drafting a promising guard from the 23rd pick, Jett Marlow, who was the 8th best player in the 2025 FBA Draft class who demanded to be traded to the Santa Ana Spectrums because he didn't want to play for Niko. Ultimately, overwhelmed by the major backlash, Niko finally announced that he'd resign as the owner of the Biloxi Venom at the start of the 2025-2026 pre-season.
Following his departure, a white tiger named Kamel Awali, also known as "The Crown Prince of Morocco," brought the team and took over full ownership. Kamel always had a passion for sports and nearly became an Olympian before the injury he encountered, and has long aspired to own an FBA team. Despite the lack of knowledge in basketball organization management, Kamel possesses a strong business savvy, confident, and smart mentality by hiring a bunch a new staffs and coaches. His leadership is expected to uplift the team’s morale and is aimed at restoring the Venom's success, following their performance during the 2020-2021 championship season as the Voodoos.
During their second season, the Biloxi Venoms, under new management, achieved an unexpected 7-3 start, despite lacking a franchise player. However, their momentum was hampered by an injury to starting power forward and best defender, Damien Myers, who sprained his hip. Venom's General Manager Arnold Black did multiple trades throughout the season, trying to save the team's season. Ultimately, the Venoms had made their first playoff appearance since 2022, when they were called Biloxi Voodoo, thrilling Biloxi fans who had been longing for the postseason since the Niko Collins era. Unfortunately, their playoff run was short-lived, as they were eliminated in the first round by the defending champions, the Tallahassee Typhoons. Nonetheless, this season was just the beginning for them.
Season Records
Biloxi Venom
2024-2025 - 20-60 (12th in Eastern Conference, 4th in Southern Division)
2025-2026 - 37-43 (7th in Eastern Conference, 3rd in Southern Division)
