1896–97 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States

American college basketball season

1896–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
← 1895–96 1897–98 →

The 1896–97 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States began in December 1896, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1897.

Rule changes

Backboards were installed for the first time.^[1]

Season headlines

The first "true" college game with five players on the floor for each team occurred on March 20, 1897, when Yale defeated Penn 32–10 at New Haven, Connecticut.^[2] (Previously, as many as nine players were on the floor for each team in college games.)^[3] Although the first game between two colleges with five players on the floor for each team had taken place in 1896 between Chicago and Iowa,^[3] the NCAA does not consider the 1896 game a "true" college game^[3] because Iowa's starting line-up consisted of members of a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) team who all happened to be attending the University of Iowa.^[3] In the 1897 Penn-Yale game, both teams were composed of members of the student body who did not made up a separate team outside of their university.^[3]
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Yale as its national champion for the 1896–97 season.^[4]

Regular season

No college basketball conferences existed, but 21 college teams played as major independents. During the season, college teams played against non-collegiate opponents such as athletic clubs, high schools, and Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) teams as well as against other colleges and universities. The only teams to play 10 or more games were Yale (11–5), Temple (10–11), and Trinity (8–5).^[5]

1896–97 collegiate men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Butler		–		–	1	–	0	1.000
Minnesota A&M		–		–	6	–	0	1.000
Nebraska		–		–	2	–	0	1.000
Wabash		–		–	1	–	0	1.000
Bucknell		–		–	4	–	1	.800
Chicago		–		–	5	–	2	.714
Yale		–		–	11	–	5	.688
Bloomsburg		–		–	6	–	3	.667
Notre Dame		–		–	2	–	1	.667
Trinity (Conn.)		–		–	8	–	5	.615
Central Pennsylvania		–		–	1	–	1	.500
Mount Union		–		–	1	–	1	.500
Penn State		–		–	1	–	1	.500
Purdue		–		–	1	–	1	.500
Temple		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Iowa		–		–	2	–	4	.333
Minnesota		–		–	3	–	6	.333
Pennsylvania		–		–	2	–	4	.333
Allegheny		–		–	0	–	1	.000
Macalester		–		–	0	–	3	.000
Springfield		–		–	0	–	2	.000

References

^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. pp. 2, 6. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ Srivastava, Arushi (March 29, 2021). "Origin stories: Penn men's basketball: The Quaker lost their first-ever basketball game to Yale by a score of 10-32". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Phildelphia, Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1896-97 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 17, 2024.

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25