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

1902–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
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 intermural 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 v t e 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 v t e 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 v t e 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

References

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