The Birthplace of Basketball

Basketball is built into the fabric of Springfield College. The game was invented by Springfield College instructor and graduate student James Naismith in 1891, and has grown into the worldwide athletic phenomenon we know it to be today. 스포츠중계

Springfield College students continue to be innovators and leaders in their fields. Learn how you can join the prestigious alumni network by exploring our academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, offered both in-person and online.It was the winter of 1891–1892. Inside a gymnasium at Springfield College then known as the International YMCA Training School, located in Springfield, Mass., was a group of restless college students. The young men had to be there; they were required to participate in indoor activities to burn off the energy that had been building up since their football season ended. The gymnasium class offered them activities such as marching, calisthenics, and apparatus work, but these were pale substitutes for the more exciting games of football and lacrosse they played in warmer seasons. Word of the new game spread like wildfire. It was an instant success. A few weeks after the game was invented, students introduced the game at their own YMCAs. The rules were printed in a College magazine, which was mailed to YMCAs around the country. Because of the College’s well-represented international student body, the game of basketball was introduced to many foreign nations in a relatively short period of time. High schools and colleges began to introduce the new game, and by 1905, basketball was officially recognized as a permanent winter sport.