The 1916–17 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1916, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1917.
Season headlines
In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Washington State as its national champion for the 1916–17 season. In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Washington State as its top-ranked team for the 1916–17 season.
Conference membership changes SchoolFormer ConferenceNew Conference No basketball team Pacific Coast Conference Southwest Conference No major basketball program Independent Pacific Coast Conference NOTE: Although Oregon joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1915, it did not field a basketball team during the 1915–16 season, and its first season of Pacific Coast Conference play was 1916–17.
Regular season Conferences Conference winners
ConferenceRegular Season WinnerConference Player of the YearConference TournamentTournament Venue (City)Tournament WinnerEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Yale None selected No TournamentMissouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association Kansas State None selected No TournamentPacific Coast Conference Washington State None selected No TournamentRocky Mountain Athletic Conference Colorado College No TournamentSouthwest Conference Texas None selected No TournamentWestern Conference Illinois & Minnesota None selected No Tournament
Conference standings
Independents A total of 129 college teams played as major independents. Among independents that played at least 10 games, Navy (11–0) and (13–0) were undefeated, and (20–2) and Trinity (20–4) finished with the most wins.
Awards
Helms College Basketball All-Americans
The practice of selecting a Consensus All-American Team did not begin until the 1928–29 season. The Helms Athletic Foundation later retroactively selected a list of All-Americans for the 1916–17 season.The Association for Professional Basketball Research "NCAA All-American Teams, 1919–20 to 1998–99"
Player Team Clyde Alwood Illinois Cyril Haas Princeton George Hjelte California Orson Kinney Yale Harold Olsen Wisconsin F. I. Reynolds Kansas State Francis Stadsvold Minnesota Charles Taft Yale Ray Woods Illinois Harry Young Washington and Lee
Major player of the year awards
Helms Player of the Year: Ray Woods, Illinois (retroactive selection in 1944)
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReason Alabama Thomas Kelley B. L. Noojin Tempe Normal George Schaeffler George E. Cooper Army Arthur Conrad Ivens Jones Bucknell George Cockill MAlcolm Musser California Ben Carrington Walter Christie Cincinnati Ion Cortright Whitelaw Morrison Clemson Country Morris Edward Donahue Colorado James N. Ashmore Bob Evans Columbia Carl Merner John Murray Dartmouth J. A. Pelletier Mysterious Walker Dayton Alfred McCray Al Mahrt Drake Ralph Glaze S. W. Hobbs Glaze left to coach at Northern Colorado. George Washington George Colliflower Bertram Groesbeck & Murphy Georgia W. A. Cunningham Alfred Scott Indiana Guy Lowman Dana Evans Indiana State Alfred Westphal O. E. Sink Kentucky William P. Tuttle Stanley A. Boles Lafayette J. B. Quig Bill Anderson Miami (Ohio) George Little George Rider Missouri John F. Miller Walter Meanwell New Mexico A&M Clarence W. Russell John G. Griffith Niagara Tom Tracey John O'Shea Northern Colorado Paul Abbott Ralph Glaze Northwestern Fred J. Murphy J. Norman Elliott Oklahoma A&M John G. Griffith Earl A. Pritchard Oregon Hugo Bezdek Bill Hayward Oregon Agricultural Everett May Howard Ray Purdue Ward Lambert J. J. Maloney Rice Robert Cummings Wilbur Tisdale Richmond Frank Dobson Dave E. Satterfield Jr. USC Motts Blair Dean Cromwell St. John's Joseph O'Shea John Crenny Temple William Nicholai Elwood Geiges Tennessee John R. Bender R. H. Fitzgerald Texas Eugene Van Gent Roy Henderson Texas A&M W. H. H. Morris William L. Driver Tulsa Francis Schmidt Hal Mefford Utah Nelson Norgren Thomas M. Fitzpatrick Vanderbilt Guy T. Denton Ralph Palmer Virginia Tech Harlan Sandborn Charles A. Bernier VMI Frank Gorton Earl Abell Wake Forest J. R. Crozier E. T. MacDonnell West Virginia George E. Pyle H. P. Mullenex William & Mary Samuel H. Hubbard Harry Young Yale A. Bernie Tommers Walter Mace
References