1902–03 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States

1902–03 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States
1902–03 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States
Helms National Champions	Yale (retroactive selection in 1943)

The 1902–03 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States began in December 1902, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1903.

Season headlines

Minnesota (13–0) went undefeated for the second consecutive season.
In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Yale as its national champion for the 1903–04 season.^[1]
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Minnesota as its national champion for the 1903–04 season.^[2]

Regular season

Conference winners

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[3]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Yale	None selected	No Tournament^[4]
Western Conference	None (see note)	None selected	No Tournament^[5]

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. A few intramural games took place within the conference during the 1902–03 season. In 1902–03, Minnesota (13–0) and Purdue (8–0) both went undefeated.

1902–03 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Yale	7	–	1	.875	15	–	1	.938
Columbia	5	–	3	.625	10	–	6	.625
Princeton	4	–	4	.500	8	–	7	.533
Cornell	2	–	6	.250	6	–	6	.500
Harvard	2	–	6	.250	5	–	8	.385

1902–03 Western Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Minnesota†*	1	–	0	1.000	13	–	0	1.000
Purdue	2	–	0	1.000	8	–	0	1.000
Wisconsin	0	–	1	.000	5	–	2	.714
Indiana	0	–	2	.000	8	–	4	.667
Iowa	0	–	0	–	4	–	3	.571

† Intramural play only, the conference did not have an official championship *Minnesota was named Premo-Porretta National Champions winner

Independents

A total of 55 college teams played as major independents. Among teams that played at least 10 games, Bucknell (10–0) was undefeated and Williams (18–2) won the most games.^[6]

1902–03 collegiate men's basketball independents standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Army		–		–	1	–	0	1.000
Bucknell		–		–	10	–	0	1.000
Cheyenne Business College		–		–	1	–	0	1.000
Michigan State		–		–	6	–	0	1.000
Vanderbilt		–		–	6	–	0	1.000
Ensign College		–		–	15	–	1	.938
Grove City		–		–	13	–	1	.929
Geneva		–		–	10	–	1	.909
Minnesota A&M		–		–	10	–	1	.909
Williams		–		–	18	–	2	.900
Colgate		–		–	7	–	1	.875
Allegheny		–		–	10	–	2	.833
Oregon Agricultural		–		–	5	–	1	.833
Wheaton (Ill.)		–		–	14	–	3	.824
Hiram		–		–	4	–	1	.800
Wabash		–		–	12	–	3	.800
Augustana (Ill.)		–		–	3	–	1	.750
Haskell (Kan.)		–		–	3	–	1	.750
Bradley		–		–	5	–	2	.714
Connecticut		–		–	5	–	2	.714
Fordham		–		–	15	–	6	.714
Ohio State		–		–	5	–	2	.714
Lehigh		–		–	4	–	2	.667
Montana State		–		–	4	–	2	.667
North Dakota Agricultural		–		–	4	–	2	.667
Bloomsburg		–		–	6	–	4	.600
Muhlenberg		–		–	6	–	4	.600
Grinnell		–		–	7	–	5	.583
Nebraska		–		–	7	–	5	.583
Baker		–		–	6	–	5	.545
Gettysburg		–		–	6	–	5	.545
Holy Cross		–		–	6	–	5	.545
Akron		–		–	4	–	4	.500
Cincinnati		–		–	4	–	4	.500
Illinois State		–		–	3	–	3	.500
Mount Union		–		–	7	–	7	.500
Washington State		–		–	2	–	2	.500
Kansas		–		–	7	–	8	.467
Temple		–		–	4	–	5	.444
Brigham Young		–		–	7	–	9	.438
Dartmouth		–		–	8	–	6	.571
Indiana State		–		–	5	–	7	.417
Wooster		–		–	2	–	3	.400
Brown		–		–	6	–	10	.375
Penn State		–		–	3	–	5	.375
Wesleyan (Conn.)		–		–	4	–	7	.364
Colorado		–		–	2	–	4	.333
Kentucky		–		–	1	–	2	.333
New Mexico		–		–	1	–	2	.333
Washington		–		–	2	–	4	.333
Wisconsin–Stevens Point		–		–	1	–	2	.333
Butler		–		–	1	–	3	.250
Syracuse		–		–	1	–	8	.111
Colorado Agricultural		–		–	0	–	1	.000
Oregon		–		–	0	–	2	.000

Statistical leaders

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
Brown	Charles Ray	Paul DeWolf
Cincinnati	Henry S. Pratt	Anthony Chez
Harvard	John K. Clark	John Gilles
Illinois State	B. C. Edwards	John P. Stewart
Indiana	Phelps Darby	Willis Coval
Iowa	Ed Rule	Fred W. Bailey
Lafayette	J. L. Baker	W. S. Haldeman
Nebraska	Fred Morrell	Walter Hiltner
Oregon Agricultural	J. B. Patterson	J. W. Viggers
Princeton	Augustus Enderbrock	Bill Roper
Purdue	Charles Best	C. I. Freeman
Vanderbilt	W. D. Weatherford	Crinnell Jones

References

^ Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved May 13, 2021.
^ 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.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
^ "1902-03 Men's Ivy League Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
^ "1902-03 Men's Western Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
^ "1902-03 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.

[jps-1] Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved May 13, 2021.

[ESPN_526-2] 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.

[3] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.

[4] "1902-03 Men's Ivy League Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.

[5] "1902-03 Men's Western Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.

[6] "1902-03 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.

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NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 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
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