1907–08 IAAUS men's basketball season

The 1907–08 IAAUS men's basketball season began in December 1907, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1908.

1907–08 IAAUS men's basketball season
Championship series dates	March 21 – March 25, 1908
National Championship	Game 1 Bartlett Gymnasium Chicago, Illinois Game 2 Weightman Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Intercollegiate National Champions	Chicago
Helms National Champions	Chicago (retroactive selection in 1943)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Charles Keinath, Penn (retroactive selection in 1944)
← 1906–07 1908–09 →

Rule changes

• The position of inspector, a type of game official, was abolished. Previously, two inspectors — who had no decision-making powers — had worked each game as assistants to the referee, stationed at each end of the court and responsible for determining whether goals were scored in accordance with the rules, which they reported to the referee.^[1]

Season headlines

• Chicago defeated Pennsylvania in the intercollegiate national championship series, two games to none.
• The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association began play, with six original members for basketball.
• Wabash (24–0) went undefeated during the season.
• Plagued by disagreements over playing rules and player eligibility, violent play, and teams failing to meet their obligation to play a complete league schedule on some occasions, the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL) collapsed after the season.^[2] For the next two seasons, its teams played as independents. After a reorganization, the EIBL resumed competition in the 1910–11 season.
• In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Chicago as its national champion for the 1907–08 season.^[3]
• In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Wabash as its national champion for the 1907–08 season.^[4]

Conference membership changes

School	Former Conference	New Conference
Drake Bulldogs	Independent	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Harvard Crimson	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Independent
Iowa State Cyclones	No major basketball program	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Kansas Jayhawks	Independent	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Missouri Tigers	Independent	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Nebraska Cornhuskers	Independent	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Washington University Bears	Independent	Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners

Conference	Regular- season winner[5]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (city)	Tournament winner
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Pennsylvania	None selected	No tournament[6]
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Nebraska (North); Kansas (South)	None selected	No tournament; Kansas was conference champion[7]
Western Conference	Chicago and Wisconsin	None selected	No tournament;[8] 1907–08 Western Conference championship game	Red Gym (Madison, WI)	Chicago[9]

Conference standings

1907–08 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Penn 8 – 0   1.000 24 – 4   .857 Yale 5 – 3   .625 20 – 9   .690 Columbia 5 – 3   .625 10 – 11   .476 Princeton 1 – 7   .125 7 – 10   .412 Cornell 1 – 7   .125 5 – 8   .385

1907–08 Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT North Division Nebraska 0 – 0   – 7 – 3   .700 Iowa State 1 – 0   1.000 1 – 1   .500 Drake 0 – 1   .000 1 – 6   .143 South Division Kansas† 6 – 0   1.000 18 – 6   .750 Washington University 1 – 0   1.000 4 – 2   .667 Missouri 0 – 5   .000 8 – 10   .444 † Conference championship winner

1907–08 Western Conference men's basketball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Chicago† 7 – 1   .875 23 – 2   .920 Wisconsin 7 – 1   .875 10 – 2   .833 Illinois 6 – 5   .545 20 – 6   .769 Minnesota 2 – 6   .250 12 – 7   .632 Purdue 0 – 8   .000 5 – 9   .357 Iowa - – -   – 10 – 6   .625 Indiana - – -   – 9 – 6   .600 Northwestern - – -   – 2 – 7   .222 † Tie-breaker playoff game winner

Independents

A total of 98 college teams played as major independents. Among independents that played at least 10 games, Wabash (24–0), Allegheny (12–0), and Bucknell (12-0) were undefeated, and Wabash and Haskell (24–11) finished with the most wins.^[10]

1907–08 IAAUS men's basketball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Allegheny –   – 12 – 0   1.000 Bucknell –   – 12 – 0   1.000 California –   – 1 – 0   1.000 Cincinnati –   – 9 – 0   1.000 Colorado Mines –   – 5 – 0   1.000 Wabash –   – 24 – 0   1.000 Washington and Lee –   – 8 – 0   1.000 Brigham Young College –   – 10 – 1   .909 Montana State –   – 8 – 1   .889 Canisius –   – 6 – 1   .857 Lehigh –   – 6 – 1   .857 Mount Union –   – 18 – 3   .857 Georgetown –   – 5 – 1   .833 Illinois State –   – 5 – 1   .833 Grinnell –   – 14 – 3   .824 CCNY –   – 9 – 2   .818 St. Lawrence –   – 9 – 2   .818 Muhlenberg –   – 4 – 1   .800 Washington State –   – 12 – 3   .800 Nebraska Wesleyan –   – 11 – 3   .786 Dayton –   – 10 – 3   .769 Syracuse –   – 10 – 3   .769 Army –   – 9 – 3   .750 Michigan State –   – 15 – 5   .750 Notre Dame –   – 12 – 4   .750 Temple –   – 6 – 2   .750 Dartmouth –   – 11 – 4   .733 Hope –   – 8 – 3   .727 Wake Forest –   – 8 – 3   .727 Penn State –   – 10 – 4   .714 Loyola (Md.) –   – 12 – 5   .706 Wesleyan (Conn.) –   – 12 – 5   .706 Southwestern (Kan.) –   – 14 – 6   .700 Denison –   – 11 – 5   .688 Haskell (Kan.) –   – 24 – 11   .686 Baker –   – 13 – 6   .684 Brigham Young –   – 4 – 2   .667 Holy Cross –   – 12 – 6   .667 Kalamazoo –   – 2 – 1   .667 Bradley –   – 9 – 5   .643 New York University –   – 9 – 5   .643 Ohio –   – 7 – 4   .636 Oregon Agricultural –   – 7 – 4   .636 Pittsburgh –   – 10 – 6   .625 Springfield (Mass.) –   – 5 – 3   .625 Tulane –   – 5 – 3   .625 Wooster –   – 10 – 6   .625 Marietta –   – 8 – 5   .615 Fordham –   – 18 – 12   .600 Grove City –   – 9 – 6   .600 North Dakota Agricultural –   – 6 – 4   .600 Brown –   – 11 – 8   .579 Oklahoma –   – 4 – 3   .571 Auburn –   – 5 – 5   .500 Butler –   – 4 – 4   .500 Colorado –   – 6 – 6   .500 Georgia –   – 2 – 2   .500 Idaho –   – 4 – 4   .500 Maine –   – 5 – 5   .500 Navy –   – 2 – 2   .500 Niagara –   – 6 – 6   .500 Rhode Island A&M –   – 8 – 8   .500 Southern California –   – 3 – 3   .500 Virginia –   – 5 – 5   .500 Wisconsin–Stevens Point –   – 4 – 4   .500 Colgate –   – 8 – 9   .471 Oregon –   – 8 – 9   .471 Delaware –   – 5 – 6   .455 Kentucky –   – 5 – 6   .455 Ohio State –   – 5 – 6   .455 Akron –   – 4 – 5   .444 Manhattan –   – 7 – 9   .438 Colorado Agricultural –   – 2 – 3   .400 Connecticut –   – 6 – 9   .400 Trinity (N.C.) –   – 2 – 3   .400 Oklahoma A&M –   – 2 – 3   .400 Westminster (Pa.) –   – 6 – 9   .400 Fairmount –   – 2 – 3   .400 Wyoming –   – 2 – 3   .400 Vanderbilt –   – 6 – 10   .375 Arizona –   – 1 – 2   .333 Denver –   – 1 – 2   .333 St. John's (NY) –   – 4 – 8   .333 West Virginia –   – 3 – 7   .300 Lake Forest –   – 3 – 8   .273 Bloomsburg –   – 3 – 9   .250 Harvard –   – 4 – 12   .250 Indiana State –   – 2 – 6   .250 William & Mary –   – 1 – 4   .200 Trinity (Conn.) –   – 2 – 10   .167 Union (N.Y.) –   – 2 – 10   .167 Miami (Ohio) –   – 1 – 7   .125 Kansas State –   – 1 – 12   .077 New Mexico A&M –   – 0 – 1   .000 Utah State –   – 0 – 8   .000 Widener –   – 0 – 2   .000

Statistical leaders

Post-season

Arrangements were made in early March 1908, for Pennsylvania, champion of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League, to meet the champion of the Western Conference in the post-season to determine the national champion.^[11] The postseason games were not organized by the IAAUS, so the resulting championship, while widely recognized at the time, is not an NCAA championship.

Chicago and Wisconsin finished the regular season tied for first place in the Western Conference.^[11] Representatives of the schools agreed to stage a single game to break the tie and determine which team would play Penn for the national championship. Wisconsin won a coin flip for the right to host the game.^[12]

Chicago defeated Wisconsin, 18–16, on March 12, in front of 1,800 spectators at the Red Gym in Madison. After the Maroons took a 9–7 halftime lead, the Badgers surged in front briefly in the second half, before Chicago seized control of the game. Senior captain John Schommer and junior Robert Harris tallied five points apiece, each scoring one basket and sinking three free throws, to lead the Maroons. Frederick Falls added four points, all on free throws, for Chicago. Biddy Rogers, Wisconsin's senior captain, scored six points, all from the charity stripe, to lead the Badgers, but he missed seven of his 13 attempts. Visiting Chicago fans stormed the court after the game and carried the Maroons players to the locker room.^[9]

The best-of-three national championship series was scheduled to begin at the teams' on-campus gyms in Chicago on March 21, and in Philadelphia on March 25. If necessary, the third game was to be played on Columbia's home court in New York on March 28. The first ever postseason games to determine a national champion attracted interest across the United States, and basketball critics generally agreed that the teams were worthy representatives of the eastern and western parts of the country.^[13] Pennsylvania was expecting such a large crowd for the second game that the school considered expanding the seating capacity of Weightman Hall.^[14]

A crowd of 1,800, thought to be the largest ever to attend a basketball tilt in the west, witnessed the first game of the intercollegiate national championship series at Bartlett Gymnasium. With Pennsylvania leading, 12–10, in the first half, Frederick Falls passed the ball to John Schommer, who had his back to the basket about 20 feet behind him. Schommer, without turning around, lifted the ball over his head and shot the ball through the rim, tying the game. The score was deadlocked at 13 at halftime. With the Maroons trailing, 17–16, in the second half, Schommer scored two baskets from long-range, sparking a decisive 5–0 run. Chicago held the Quakers to just a free throw the rest of the way and held on for a 21–18 victory. Schommer finished with eight points, and Falls led the Maroons with 11 points but shot only 7 for 15 from the free-throw line. Charles Keinath shot 12 for 14 from the charity stripe and finished with a game-high 12 points for the Quakers.^[15][16][17]

The largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game in the city of Philadelphia witnessed a tight contest that neither team led by more than three points. Fierce guarding by Pat Page made it difficult for Quakers star Charles Keinath to get shots at the basket. Keinath committed 11 fouls in the game, mostly trying to escape Page. With the score tied at 15, Frederick Falls gave the Maroons a lead with a free throw. In the closing seconds, Keinath, who was visibly tired from being hounded by Page, missed a pair of free throws, and Chicago held on for a 16–15 victory and the national championship. Falls finished with a game-high 10 points, all from the free-throw line, to lead the Maroons. Keinath scored nine points for Pennsylvania.^[18][19]

Awards

Helms College Basketball All-Americans

Main article: 1908 NCAA Men's 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 1907–08 season.^[20]

Player	Team
Hugh Harper	Wisconsin
Julian Hayward	Wesleyan (Conn.)
Charles Keinath	Penn
Haskell Noyes	Yale
Pat Page	Chicago
John Pryor	Brown
John Ryan	Columbia
John Schommer	Chicago
Ira Streusand	CCNY
Helmer Swenholt	Wisconsin

Major player of the year awards

• Helms Player of the Year: Charles Keinath, Penn (retroactive selection in 1944)

Coaching changes

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

Team	Former Coach	Interim Coach	New Coach	Reason
Akron	Earl Williams		Dwight Bradley
Baylor	Luther Burleson		Enoch J. Mills
BYU	C. T. Teetzel		Fred Bennion	Teetzel left BYU to coach at Utah State.
Drexel	F. Bennett		G. Doughty
Idaho	George Wyman		John S. Grogan
Illinois	Fletcher Lane		Herb Juul
Illinois State	William Bawden		George Binnewies
Indiana	Ed Cook		Robert Harris
Indiana State	John Kimmell		Eddy Conners
Iowa	Ed Rule		John G. Griffith
Marshall	L. B. Crotty		Boyd Chambers
Miami (OH)	C. H. Martin		F. W. Stone
Missouri	A. M. Ebright		Guy Lowman
Montana State	Walter R. Knox		John H. McIntosh
Navy	Joseph Finneran		Billy Lush
New Mexico A&M	John O. Miller		V. Kays
Niagara	John M. Reed		Robert Yates
North Dakota	George Sweetland		David L. Dunlap
North Dakota State	Gil Dobie		Paul Magoffin
Oklahoma	David Hall		Bennie Owen
Oklahoma State	Boyd Hill		William Schreiber
Oregon Agricultural	Roy Heater		E. D. Angell
Princeton	C. F. Kogel		Harry Shorter
Purdue	Clarence B. Jamison		E. J. Stewart
St. John's	J. Chestnut		P. Joseph Kersey
Temple	John Crescenzo		Frederick Prosch
Utah State	Mysterious Walker		C. T. Teetzel
Vanderbilt	W. L. Throop		Ed Hamilton
Washington State	John R. Bender		Fred Bohler
Wofford	Chalmers Daniel		R. G. Bressler
Wyoming	Lt. Coburn		Elmer Hoefer