Abstract:
Devised by James Naismith in 1891 in Massachusetts, basketball was played in YMCAs throughout North Carolina by the end of that decade. Soon physical education professors at the North Carolina schools of higher learning began introducing the game. At Wake Forest, Professor Richard Crozier formed a basketball team in 1906, and in February of the same year, Wake Forest played Guilford College in the state's first intercollegiate basketball game. Other schools, including Trinity College, UNC, and NC Agriculture & Mechanic Arts, soon fielded teams. Facilities were poor. Players had to buy and maintain their uniforms. Spectators were few. The players persisted however, and the game gained a foothold on the campuses. Basketball was still second fiddle to football until the end of World War II. Then the sport took off.