What Do You Want To Know About College Basketball History?
Here’s a basic outline of college basketball history.
College basketball history begins with Dr. James Naismith in 1892. And in a short while, the game began to grow popular at colleges, beginning college basketball history as we now know it. College basketball history continues to unfold with every passing game.
Starting out
What heralded the start of college basketball history was the invention of a game that could be played with five players on each team
This began on January 18, 1896 in Iowa City.
But that was only the beginning of college basketball history that would eventually spread to 90 colleges in the east and Midwest parts of the country. By 1914, it has grown further still to 360 colleges.
The story unfolds
When college basketball history hit the year 1915, the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, the NCAA, and the YMCA got together to set up a committee to make rules.
This also leg to the formation of regional conferences.
March Madness begins
The first NCAA championship was help in 1939 in Evanston.
Organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and won by University of Oregon, the NCAA then stepped in to take control of the playoff games.
Pittsburgh and Fordham made their mark in college basketball history by playing in the first televised game in 1940.
And that’s where the popularity really began to soar.
Right up until 1950, the NCAA had eight basketball teams competing against one another, sealing college basketball history. But then the number increased to sixteen in 1951.
Everyone wanted in.
More teams were added and March Madness began to spread like a disease around the country. No longer was college basketball history confined to coeds and the younger crowd.
College basketball history doesn’t end here, in fact it continues to grow and evolve as we head out to the courts to watch.