1903–04 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States

American college basketball season August 2023 March 2026 1903 Olympic College Championship Games St. Louis 1904 gold medal.jpg Gold medal won by Hiram College at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. Columbia (retroactive selection in 1943) The 1903–04 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States began in December 1903, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1904. Season headlines Minnesota (10–2) offered to play the eastern champion, Columbia (17–1), in a three-game post-season playoff series to decide the national championship, but Columbia refused.March 3, 1904 Minnesota vs. Columbia — Champions of East and West to Play Basketball Here — Gophers Challenge — Series of Three Games to Be Arranged If Blue and White Will Play https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-1903-minnesota-vs-columbia/178666213/ The Minneapolis Tribune New York Minneapolis, MN Harry A. Fisher, manager of the basketball team of Columbia university, champions of the eastern colleges, yesterday received a letter from Manager Deering, of the Minnesota university team, challenging the players of the blue and white to a series of games for the championship of the country. The Minnesota challenge was worded as follows... The 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, held an "Olympic World's College Basket Ball Championship" in July 1904 as part of its basketball competition. Hiram College won, becoming the only American collegiate basketball team to win an Olympic gold medal. Based on the Olympic results, Hiram claimed to have won the mythical national championship of the 1903–04 season. Basketball (Olympic College Basketball Championship), Men https://www.olympedia.org/results/925944 olympedia.org Olympedia 1 July 2026Stevenson Abigail April 17, 2019 Hiram’s 1904 Olympic Gold Medal featured in Ohio Champion of Sports https://www.hiram.edu/hiram-news/hirams-1904-olympic-gold-medal-featured-in-ohio-champion-of-sports/ Hiram, Ohio Hiram College 1 July 2026Spalding's Official Basket Ball Guide for 1904 XVIII 212 Hepbron George T. George Hepbron American Sports Publishing Co. New York September 1904 14–35 https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.officialaaubaske04amat/?sp=35 The First Olympic College Basket Ball Championship In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Columbia as its national champion for the 1903–04 season.Jon Scott Nov 9, 2010 The truth behind the Helms Committee http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/helms.html 13 May 2021 In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Columbia as its top-ranked team for the 1903–04 season.ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game ESPN ESPN Books New York, NY 2009 526, 529–587 978-0-345-51392-2 Conference membership changes SchoolFormer ConferenceNew Conference Chicago Chicago Maroons No major basketball program Western Conference Pennsylvania Penn Quakers Independent Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Regular season Conference winners ConferenceRegular- season winnerhttps://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2009/Standings.pdf 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section 2009 NCAA 14 February 2009Conference Player of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winnerEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Columbia None selected No tournamenthttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/ivy/men/1904.html Sports Reference 1903-04 Men's Ivy League Season Summary July 18, 2024Western Conference None (see note) None selected No tournamenthttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/western/men/1904.html Sports Reference 1903-04 Men's Western Conference Season Summary July 18, 2024 Note: The Western Conference (the future Big Ten Conference) did not sponsor an official conference season or recognize a regular-season champion until the 1905–06 season. In 1903–04, Chicago (7–0) finished with the best winning percentage (1.000) and Purdue (11–2) and Wisconsin (11–4) with the most wins. Independents A total of 56 college teams played as major independents. Among teams that played at least 10 games, 1903 North Dakota State University North Dakota State Bison North Dakota Agricultural (11–1) had the best winning percentage (.917), and 1903 Fordham University Fordham Rams Fordham (19–5) won the most games.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1904.html Sports Reference 1903-04 Men's Independent Season Summary July 18, 2024 Post-season tournament thumb|The 1903–04 Hiram College basketball team. 1904 Olympic Games college championship SOURCES The 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, included basketball as a demonstration sport. One of the seven Olympic basketball competitions was an "Olympic World's College Basket Ball Championship," held in a round-robin format with three schools — Hiram College, Latter-day Saints University (now Ensign College), and Wheaton College — taking part. The competition took place on July 11–12, 1904, and was played outdoors outside Physical Culture Gymnasium (now Francis Gymnasium) at Washington University. Hiram won both of its games, becoming the only American collegiate basketball team to win an Olympic gold medal. Based on this competition, Hiram claimed to have won the mythical national championship for the 1903–04 season. The results were: First match: Hiram 25 Wheaton 20 Second match: Hiram 25 Latter-day Saints 18 Third match: Wheaton 40 Latter-day Saints 35 Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReason Brown Paul DeWolf Henry Ahrens Butler Walter F. Kelly Ralph Jones Fordham S. J. Mellyn John McLaughlin Iowa Fred W. Bailey Ed Rule Michigan State George Denman Chester Brewer Oregon Agricultural J. W. Viggers W. O. Trine Purdue C. I. Freeman John Snack Princeton Bill Roper William McCoy Vanderbilt Grinnell Jones Ed Hamilton References 2