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74-632: The American Mideast Conference ( AMC ) was an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that included eight member institutions in Ohio , Pennsylvania , New York , and Massachusetts . Founded in 1949, it was known as the Mid-Ohio League , and named the Mid-Ohio Conference from 1962 until 1998, when it adopted its final moniker. The name change was the first step in

148-471: A University of Kansas alumnus and basketball enthusiast, went on a crusade in 2010 to persuade moneyed alumni to consider bidding on and hopefully winning the document at auction to give it to the University of Kansas. Swade eventually persuaded David G. Booth , a billionaire investment banker and KU alumnus, and his wife Suzanne Booth, to commit to bidding at the auction. The Booths won the bidding and purchased

222-565: A coaching career that would lead him to be known as "the Father of Basketball Coaching". During his time at Kansas, Allen coached Dean Smith (1952 National Championship team) and Adolph Rupp (1922 Helms Foundation National Championship team). Smith and Rupp have joined Naismith and Allen as members of the Basketball Hall of Fame . By the turn of the century, enough college teams were in the East that

296-463: A free-for-all in the middle of the gym floor. [The injury toll: several black eyes, one separated shoulder, and one player knocked unconscious.] It certainly was murder. [Naismith changed some of the rules as part of his quest to develop a clean sport.] The most important one was that there should be no running with the ball. That stopped tackling and slugging. We tried out the game with those [new] rules (fouls), and we didn't have one casualty. Naismith

370-490: A losing record (55–60). However, Naismith coached Forrest "Phog" Allen , his eventual successor at Kansas, who went on to join his mentor in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . When Allen became a coach himself and told him that he was going to coach basketball at Baker University in 1904, Naismith discouraged him: "You can't coach basketball; you just play it." Instead, Allen embarked on

444-639: A multi-phase expansion that extended the conference into states beyond Ohio before the league was eventually disbanded in 2012. In its final five years the conference experienced a number of changes, with numerous members moving to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Former members Roberts Wesleyan and Walsh University received admission to the NCAA and underwent the process of transferring athletics into Division II ; Houghton College transitioned to Division III and joined

518-586: A part of any of these conferences play in the Continental Athletic Conference , formerly the Association of Independent Institutions. *- Denotes that the conference sponsors football. †- Denotes a football-only conference. James Naismith James Naismith ( NAY-smith ; November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as

592-426: A pole so a large ball could be thrown into them. In his attempt to think up a new game, Naismith was guided by three main thoughts. Firstly, he analyzed the most popular games of the times (rugby, lacrosse, soccer , football, hockey , and baseball ); Naismith noticed the hazards of a ball and concluded that the big, soft soccer ball was safest. Secondly, he saw that most physical contact occurred while running with

666-572: A professorship; he served as the de facto athletic director at Kansas for much of the early 20th century. Naismith had "strong feelings against segregation ," dating back to his World War I-era service in France and his service on the United States-Mexico border, and he strove for progress in race relations through modest steps. During the 1930s, he would not or could not get African-Americans onto Kansas' varsity Jayhawks, but he did help engineer

740-467: A radio interview in January 1939, Naismith gave more details of the first game and the initial rules that were used: I showed them two peach baskets I'd nailed up at each end of the gym, and I told them the idea was to throw the ball into the opposing team's peach basket. I blew a whistle, and the first game of basketball began ... The boys began tackling, kicking, and punching in the clinches. They ended up in

814-402: A result, he started the effort to bring a Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter to his University of Kansas (KU). On February 18, 1923, Naismith, intending to bring a SigEp Chapter to KU, was initiated as a SigEp member by national office of the fraternity. Under Naismith's leadership, the University of Kansas Sigma Phi Epsilon Chapter was founded and officially Charted on April 28, 1923, with Naismith leading

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888-717: A rock , a medieval game in which a person guards a large drake stone from opposing players, who try to knock it down by throwing smaller stones at it. To play duck on a rock most effectively, Naismith soon found that a soft lobbing shot was far more effective than a straight hard throw, a thought that later proved essential for the invention of basketball. Orphaned early in his life, Naismith lived with his aunt and uncle for many years and attended grade school at Bennies Corners near Almonte. Then, he enrolled in Almonte High School, in Almonte, Ontario, from which he graduated in 1883. In

962-464: A rock . For this purpose, Naismith asked a janitor to find a pair of boxes, but the janitor brought him peach baskets instead. Naismith christened this new game Basket Ball and put his thoughts together in 13 basic rules . The first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball,

1036-499: A series of do-it-yourself home improvement videos, became the first college student-athlete known to have profited from an endorsement under the current rules. The NAIA sponsors 16 sports in which it conducts 28 annual championships (13 for men, 13 for women, 2 co-ed). The NAIA recognizes three levels of competitions: "emerging" (15 or more institutions sponsoring as varsity and declared), "invitational" (25 or more institutions sponsoring as varsity and declared for postseason, Approval of

1110-630: Is in Kansas City, Missouri , sponsors 28 national championships. CBS Sports Network , formerly called CSTV, serves as the national media outlet for the NAIA. In 2014, ESPNU began carrying the NAIA Football National Championship . In 1937, James Naismith and local leaders, including George Goldman and Emil Liston, staged the first National College Basketball Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri , of which Goldman

1184-476: Is ironically the only losing coach in Kansas history. Naismith is at the beginning of a massive and prestigious coaching tree, as he coached Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Phog Allen , who himself coached Hall of Fame coaches Dean Smith , Adolph Rupp , and Ralph Miller who all coached future coaches as well. In addition to Allen, Naismith also can be seen as a mentor and therefore beginning for

1258-726: The Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player award since 1939, as well as the Charles Stevenson Hustle Award ("Charlie Hustle"), which was the basis for Pete Rose 's nickname, given to him by Whitey Ford . From 1992 to 2020, basketball was the only NAIA sport in which the organization's member institutions were aligned into divisions. Effective with the 2020–21 academic year, the NAIA returned to a single division for both men's and women's basketball. The NAIA has 21 member conferences, including 9 that sponsor football. Member institutions that are not

1332-676: The NCAA Tournament (1939). Naismith studied and taught physical education at McGill University in Montreal until 1890, before moving to Springfield, Massachusetts , United States later that year, where in 1891 he designed the game of basketball while he was teaching at the International YMCA Training School . Seven years after inventing basketball, Naismith received his medical degree in Denver in 1898. He then arrived at

1406-907: The Naismith College Player of the Year , the Naismith College Coach of the Year , and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year . After the Olympic introduction to men's basketball in 1936, women's basketball became an Olympic event in Montreal during the 1976 Summer Olympics . Naismith was also inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame , the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame ,

1480-948: The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame , the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame . The FIBA Basketball World Cup trophy is named the "James Naismith Trophy" in his honor. On June 21, 2013, Naismith was inducted into the Kansas Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Topeka. Naismith's home town of Almonte, Ontario , hosts an annual 3-on-3 tournament for all ages and skill levels in his honor. Every year, this event attracts hundreds of participants and involves over 20 half-court games along

1554-587: The United States , for the gold medal, Canada , for the silver medal, and Mexico , for their bronze medal. During the Olympics, he was named the honorary president of the International Basketball Federation . When Naismith returned, he commented that seeing the game played by many nations was the greatest compensation he could have received for his invention. In 1937, Naismith played a role in

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1628-537: The University of Kansas , later becoming the Kansas Jayhawks ' athletic director and coach. While a coach at Kansas, Naismith coached Phog Allen , who later became the coach at Kansas for 39 seasons, beginning a lengthy and prestigious coaching tree . Allen then went on to coach legends including Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith , among others, who themselves coached many notable players and future coaches. Naismith

1702-505: The YMCA physical director training program that had brought him to Springfield, Naismith was hired as a full-time faculty member in 1891. At the Springfield YMCA, Naismith struggled with a rowdy class that was confined to indoor games throughout the harsh New England winter, and thus was perpetually short-tempered. Under orders from Luther Gulick , head of physical education there, Naismith

1776-536: The 20th century. Basketball player Michael Jordan came in first in the ESPN poll and second (behind Babe Ruth ) in the AP poll. Both polls featured fellow basketball players Wilt Chamberlain (of KU, like Naismith) and Bill Russell in the top 20. The original rules of basketball written by James Naismith in 1891, considered to be basketball's founding document, was auctioned at Sotheby's, New York, in December 2010. Josh Swade ,

1850-612: The Debruce Center, which houses the rules and opened in March 2016. Naismith was designated a National Historic Person in 1976, on the advice of the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board In 1991, postage stamps commemorated the centennial of basketball's invention: four stamps were issued by Canada Post , including one with Naismith's name; one stamp was issued by the US Postal Service . Another Canadian stamp, in 2009, honored

1924-565: The Empire 8 conference in 2012–13. Daemen, Roberts Wesleyan, and Point Park applied for NCAA Division II status in June 2011 and in July Roberts Wesleyan was approved for membership. Also in June 2011 former AMC members Cedarville , Notre Dame College , Urbana , and Ursuline College announced the creation of a new NCAA DII conference that hoped to develop and expand for an anticipated lifting of

1998-566: The NAIA, in partnership with the National Football League (NFL), announced the addition of flag football as a varsity sport for female student-athletes. The NAIA became the first collegiate governing body to sanction the sport at the varsity level. Women's flag began during the 2021 season as an emerging sport with about 15 teams. Name, image, and likeness reform — In October 2020, the NAIA passed legislation that allows student-athletes at its member institutions to be compensated for

2072-503: The National Administrative Council), and "championship" (40 or more institutions sponsoring as varsity, Minimum of two Invitationals held, Approval of the National Administrative Council). The association conducts, or has conducted in the past, championship tournaments in the following sports (year established). The NAIA men's basketball championship is the longest-running collegiate national championship of any sport in

2146-481: The Spalding Athletic Library official basketball rule book for 1893–1894. The University of Kansas men's basketball program officially began following Naismith's arrival in 1898, seven years after Naismith drafted the sport's first official rules. Naismith was not initially hired to coach basketball, but rather as a chapel director and physical-education instructor. In those early days, the majority of

2220-519: The Springfield college newspaper) featured it in an article called "A New Game", and there were calls to call this new game "Naismith Ball", but Naismith refused. By 1893, basketball was introduced internationally by the YMCA movement. From Springfield, Naismith went to Denver, where he acquired a medical degree, and in 1898, he joined the University of Kansas faculty at Lawrence . The family of Lambert G. Will, disputing Naismith's sole creation of

2294-584: The United States. The tournament was the brainchild of Dr. James Naismith , creator of the game of basketball; Emil Liston , athletic director at Baker University ; and Frank Cramer, founder of Cramer Athletic Products. The event began in 1937 with the inaugural tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2017 men's championship marked the 80th edition of what has been tabbed College Basketball's Toughest Tournament. The tournament has awarded

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2368-412: The admission of black students to the university's swimming pool . Until then, they had been given automatic passing grades on a required swimming test without entering the pool, so it could remain all-white. Through Naismith's association with Baker University Basketball Coach Emil Liston, he became familiar and impressed with Emil Liston's fraternity at Baker University, Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp). As

2442-425: The ball, dribbling, or hitting it, so he decided that passing was the only legal option. Finally, Naismith further reduced body contact by making the goal unguardable by placing it high above the player's heads with the plane of the goal's opening parallel to the floor. This placement forced the players to score goals by throwing a soft, lobbing shot like that which had proven effective in his old favorite game, duck on

2516-403: The basketball games were played against nearby YMCA teams, with YMCAs across the nation having played an integral part in the birth of basketball. Other common opponents were Haskell Indian Nations University and William Jewell College . Under Naismith, the team played only one current Big 12 school: Kansas State (once). Naismith is, ironically, the only coach in the program's history to have

2590-405: The bulletin board just behind the instructor's platform, secured a soccer ball, and awaited the arrival of the class ... The class did not show much enthusiasm, but followed my lead ... I then explained what they had to do to make goals, tossed the ball up between the two center men and tried to keep them somewhat near the rules. Most of the fouls were called for running with the ball, though tackling

2664-444: The coaching tree branches of John McLendon who wasn't permitted to play at Kansas but was close to Naismith during his time as an athletic director. Amos Alonzo Stagg , was primarily a football coach, but he did play basketball for Naismith in Springfield, coached a year of basketball at Chicago and had several football players who also coached basketball such as Jesse Harper , Fred Walker and Tony Hinkle . Naismith invented

2738-501: The document for a record US$ 4,338,500, the most ever paid for a sports memorabilia item, and gave the document to the University of Kansas. Swade's project and eventual success are chronicled in a 2012 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "There's No Place Like Home" and in a corresponding book, The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan's Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball . The University of Kansas constructed an $ 18 million building named

2812-587: The eight teams being Carlow, Daemen, Fisher, Houghton, Point Park, Roberts Wesleyan, Wilberforce, and Walsh. However, on January 12, 2012, the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now known as the River States Conference ) announced that it had accepted Point Park University and Carlow University as full members beginning with the 2012–13 school year. This left Fisher College and Wilberforce University as

2886-561: The first McGill director of athletics, but then left Montreal to study at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts . Naismith played football during his one year as a student at Springfield, where he was coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg and scored a touchdown in the first exhibition of indoor college football at Madison Square Garden . Naismith is credited with inventing basketball. Naismith

2960-473: The first association to admit colleges and universities from outside the United States. The NAIA began admitting Canadian members in 1967. Football – The NAIA was the first association to send a football team to Europe to play. In the summer of 1976, the NAIA sent Henderson State and Texas A&I to play 5 exhibition games in West Berlin, Vienna, Nuremberg, Mannheim and Paris. Flag football – In May 2020,

3034-494: The first female college athlete to play and score in a college football game when she kicked two extra points during the 1997 Linfield vs. Willamette football game . Launched in 2000 by the NAIA, the Champions of Character program promotes character and sportsmanship through athletics. The Champions of Character conducts clinics and has developed an online training course to educate athletes, coaches, and athletic administrators with

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3108-531: The first historically Black institution to win a collegiate basketball national championship. In 1959, Southern University became the first HBCU to win the NAIA Baseball championship. In 2024, NAIA instituted a ban on those transgender men who have begun transgender hormone therapy and all transgender women from competing in women’s sports, with the exception of cheerleading and dance. The NAIA began sponsoring intercollegiate championships for women in 1980 ,

3182-476: The first intercollegiate competitions could be played out. Although the sport continued to grow, Naismith long regarded the game as a curiosity and preferred gymnastics and wrestling as better forms of physical activity. However, basketball became a demonstration sport at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis . As the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame reports, Naismith was not interested in self-promotion nor

3256-477: The formation of the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball, which later became the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Naismith became professor emeritus at Kansas when he retired in 1937 at the age of 76. In addition to his years as a coach, for a total of almost 40 years, Naismith worked at the school and during those years, he also served as its athletic director and

3330-509: The game of basketball and wrote the original 13 rules of this sport; for comparison, the NBA rule book today features 66 pages. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, is named in his honor, and he was an inaugural inductee in 1959. The National Collegiate Athletic Association rewards its best players and coaches annually with the Naismith Awards , among them

3404-542: The game's invention. In July 2019, Naismith was inducted into Toronto's Walk of Fame . On January 15, 2021, Google placed a Google Doodle celebrating James Naismith on its home page in 18 countries, on five continents. Naismith was the second child of two Scottish immigrants. His father left Europe when he was 18, and also settled down in Lanark County. On June 20, 1894, Naismith married his wife in Springfield, Massachusetts . The couple had five children. He

3478-413: The game, has claimed that Naismith borrowed components for the game of basketball from Will, citing alleged photos and letters. In an interview, the family did give Naismith credit for the general idea of the sport, but they claimed Will changed aspects of Naismith's original plans for the game and Naismith took credit for the changes. Spalding worked with Naismith to develop the official basketball and

3552-540: The inventor of the game of basketball . After moving to the United States, he wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the University of Kansas basketball program in 1898. Naismith lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , as well as the birth of the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and

3626-478: The main street of the town. All proceeds of the event go to youth basketball programs in the area. Today basketball is played by more than 300 million people worldwide, making it one of the most popular team sports. In North America, basketball has produced some of the most-admired athletes of the 20th century. ESPN and the Associated Press both conducted polls to name the greatest North American athlete of

3700-426: The man with the ball was not uncommon." In contrast to modern basketball, the original rules did not include what is known today as the dribble . Since the ball could only be moved up the court by a pass early players tossed the ball over their heads as they ran up court. Also following each "goal", a jump ball was taken in the middle of the court. Both practices are obsolete in the rules of modern basketball . In

3774-499: The moratorium on new NCAA DII conferences in 2013. In July 2011, Cedarville and Notre Dame were awarded NCAA provisional status, while Malone University and Ursuline College were granted candidacy year two, all three left the NAIA and AMC for the 2011–12 academic year. With the addition of Fisher College from the collapsed Sunrise Athletic Conference , there were reports that the AMC would operate as an eight team conference in 2011–12 with

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3848-552: The new 40-member fraternity as "Chapter Counselor." Naismith was deeply involved with the members, serving as Chapter Counselor for 16 years, from 1923 until his death in 1939. During those 16 years as Chapter Counselor, he married SigEp's housemother, Mrs. Florence Kincaid. Members who were interviewed during that era remembered Naismith: "He was deeply religious", "He listened more than he spoke", "He thought sports were nothing but an avenue to keep young people involved so they could do their studies and relate to their community", and "It

3922-649: The only remaining members, but as they have now become NAIA independent schools in the Association of Independent Institutions, the conference has been shut down. A list of past members of the American Mideast Conference: The American Mideast ended with eight full members, all were private schools: The American Mideast had 21 former full members, all but two were private schools:  Full member (non-football)  The AMC formerly sponsored 15 sports: Presidents of member institutions maintained active rolls of governance over

3996-600: The organization by way of the Council of Presidents. Additionally, the AMC included a staff of conference officials: National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics For the 2023–24 season, it had 241 member institutions , of which two are in British Columbia , one in the U.S. Virgin Islands , and the rest in the continental United States , with over 83,000 student-athletes participating. The NAIA, whose headquarters

4070-407: The players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops, the goals were a pair of peach baskets: "When Mr. Stubbins brot [ sic ] up the peach baskets to the gym I secured them on the inside of the railing of the gallery. This was about 10 feet [3.0 meters] from the floor, one at each end of the gymnasium. I then put the 13 rules on

4144-432: The same year, Naismith entered McGill University in Montreal . Although described as a slight figure, standing 5 feet 10 + 1 ⁄ 2  inches (1.791 m) and listed at 178 pounds (81 kg) he was a talented and versatile athlete, representing McGill in football , lacrosse , rugby , soccer , and gymnastics . He played centre on the football team, and made himself some padding to protect his ears. It

4218-491: The same: "Over 200 spectators crammed their necks over the gallery railing of the Christian Workers gymnasium while they watched the game of 'basket ball' between the teachers and the students. The most conspicuous figure on the floor was Stagg in the blue Yale uniform who managed to have a hand in every scrimmage." By 1892, basketball had grown so popular on campus that Dennis Horkenbach (editor-in-chief of The Triangle ,

4292-463: The second coed national athletics association to do so, offering collegiate athletics championships to women in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball. The National Junior College Athletic Association had established a women's division in the spring of 1975 and held the first women's national championship volleyball tournament that fall. In 1997, Liz Heaston became

4366-468: The skills necessary to promote character development in the context of sport. In 2010, the association opened the NAIA Eligibility Center, where prospective student-athletes are evaluated for academic and athletic eligibility. It delivers on the NAIA's promise of integrity by leveling the playing field, guiding student-athlete success, and ensuring fair competition. Membership – The NAIA was

4440-487: The use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). According to an NAIA press release, student-athletes can now "receive compensation for promoting any commercial product, enterprise, or for any public or media appearance", and can also "reference their intercollegiate athletic participation in such promotions or appearances." The NAIA had allowed student-athletes to receive NIL compensation since 2014, but had not previously allowed them to reference their status as such. The NAIA

4514-510: The worst record in school history. Naismith Valley Park, located at the south end of Naismith Drive in Lawrence is also named in his honor. Naismith Hall, a dormitory, is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of 19th Street with Naismith Drive on the KU campus is also named for him. In 1898, Naismith became the first basketball coach of University of Kansas . He compiled a record of 55–60 and

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4588-473: Was a classmate of Amos Alonzo Stagg at the YMCA School, where Stagg coached the football team. They became close friends and Naismith played on the football team and Stagg played on the basketball team. Naismith invited Stagg to play in the first public basketball game on March 12, 1892. The students defeated the faculty 5–1 and Stagg scored the only basket for the faculty. The Springfield Republican reported on

4662-452: Was a member of the Pi Gamma Mu and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities. Naismith was a Presbyterian minister and was also a Freemason . His first wife died in 1937, and on June 11, 1939, he married his second wife. On November 19 of that year, Naismith suffered a major brain hemorrhage and died nine days later in his home in Lawrence. He was 78 years old. Naismith died eight months after

4736-500: Was also a faculty member at the school. In 1939, Naismith suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage. He was interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas . His masterwork "Basketball — its Origins and Development" was published posthumously in 1941. In Lawrence, Naismith has a road named in his honor, Naismith Drive, which runs in front of Allen Fieldhouse and James Naismith Court therein are named in his honor, despite Naismith's having

4810-533: Was an outstanding football player at McGill University in Montreal when he realized he needed to invent an indoor game for the winter due to the weather conditions. He later decided to become a physical education teacher at McGill University for his three postgraduate years and then went to Springfield, Massachusetts, to study at the YMCA International Training School in the 1890s. After completing

4884-492: Was born on November 6, 1861, in Almonte , Canada West, Province of Canada (now part of Mississippi Mills, Ontario , Canada ) to Scottish parents. Despite some sources to the contrary Naismith never had a middle name and never signed his name with an "A" initial. The "A" was added by someone in administration at the University of Kansas. Gifted in farm labour, Naismith spent his days outside playing catch, hide-and-seek, or duck on

4958-402: Was director, one year before the first National Invitation Tournament and two years before the first NCAA tournament . The goal of the tournament was to establish a forum for small colleges and universities to determine a national basketball champion. The original eight-team tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1938. On March 10, 1940, the National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB)

5032-461: Was for personal use, not team use. He won multiple Wicksteed medals for outstanding gymnastics performances. Naismith earned a BA in physical education (1888) and a diploma at the Presbyterian College in Montreal (1890). At the end of his career, in 1938 and 1939, he would receive honorary doctorates from both institutions. From 1888 to 1890, Naismith taught physical education and became

5106-446: Was formed in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1952 , the NAIB was transformed into the NAIA, and with that came the sponsorship of additional sports such as men's golf, tennis and outdoor track and field. Football in the NAIA was split into two divisions in 1970, based on enrollment (Divisions I and II); it was consolidated back into a single division in 1997. The 1948 NAIB national tournament

5180-408: Was given 14 days to create an indoor game that would provide an "athletic distraction"; Gulick demanded that it would not take up much room, could help its track athletes to keep in shape and explicitly emphasized to "make it fair for all players and not too rough". Naismith was later employed to teach physical education using two boxes. He told the superintendent he needed the two boxes to be put onto

5254-493: Was he interested in the glory of competitive sports. Instead, he was more interested in his physical-education career; he received an honorary PE master's degree in 1910, patrolled the Mexican border for four months in 1916, traveled to France, and published two books ( A Modern College in 1911 and Essence of a Healthy Life in 1918). He took American citizenship on May 4, 1925. In 1909, Naismith's duties at Kansas were redefined as

5328-438: Was really nice having someone with the caliber of Dr. Naismith, he helped many a SigEp." In 1935, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (founded by Naismith's pupil Phog Allen) collected money so the 74-year-old Naismith could witness the introduction of basketball into the official Olympic sports program of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin . There, Naismith handed out the medals to three North American teams:

5402-445: Was several years ahead of the NCAA in NIL reform; the NCAA did not adopt NIL reform until 2021, after its hand was forced by multiple states passing legislation to allow student-athletes to receive such compensation, most notably California . In December 2020, Chloe Mitchell, a volleyball player at NAIA member Aquinas College who at the time had more than 2 million followers on TikTok with

5476-506: Was the first intercollegiate postseason to feature a Black student-athlete, Clarence Walker of Indiana State under coach John Wooden . Wooden had withdrawn from the 1947 tournament because the NAIB would not allow Walker to play. The association furthered its commitment to African-American athletes when, in 1953, it became the first collegiate association to invite historically black colleges and universities into its membership. In 1957, Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State) became

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