History of Basketball - American Colleges Lead The Way

American Colleges Lead The Way

The greatest level of early activity was seen in American colleges. The first recorded instance of an organized college basketball game was played between Geneva College and the New Brighton YMCA on April 8, 1893, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, which Geneva College won 3–0. Geneva College calls itself "The Birthplace of College Basketball". In February 1895, Minnesota State School of Agriculture and Hamline University played the first intercollegiate match (won 9–3 by Minnesota). In that period, the Amateur Athletic Union took over the organization of collegiate activity. In 1905, Yale University was disqualified, and some universities created the Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which became National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1910. For thirty years, there were many conferences: they were small state championships. The NCAA created a United States championship in 1939, adding the playoffs at the end of each conference.