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. 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. In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Columbia as its national champion for the 1903–04 season. In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Columbia as its top-ranked team for the 1903–04 season.
Conference membership changes SchoolFormer ConferenceNew Conference No major basketball program Western Conference Independent Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League
Regular season
Conference winners
ConferenceRegular- season winnerConference Player of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winnerEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League Columbia None selected No tournamentWestern Conference None None selected No tournament 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, had the best winning percentage (.917), and won the most games.
Post-season tournament
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