School Name: | Hamline University |
Location: | St. Paul, Minnesota |
Arena: | Hutton Arena |
Capacity: | 1,100 |
Conference: | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
Head coach: | Nelson Whitmore |
Hamline University calls itself the "birthplace of intercollegiate basketball." In 1893, then-Athletic Director Ray Kaighn, who had played on James Naismith's very first basketball team, brought the sport to the university when it was barely a year old. A women's program was organized two years later. On February 9, 1895, Hamline hosted the first intercollegiate basketball game in history, when the Minnesota State School of Agriculture (now the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota) defeated Hamline by a score of 9–3. The game was played in the basement of the university's old science building using Naismith's original "peach basket" rules, and featured nine players to each side.
Hamline was once known for the strength of its basketball program, with the university considered to be a national power in the sport from the 1930s to the 1950s. Hamline produced a number of NBA players during this time, including Hall of Famer Vern Mikkelsen. Then-head coach Joe Hutton, Sr. (1931–65) was once offered and turned down a chance to coach the Minneapolis Lakers.
The men's basketball program, which has 1,154 total victories, ranks as the 23rd most winning team in NCAA Division III history (as of the 2004–05 season).
Hamline appeared in the NAIA National Tournament 12 times from 1940 to 1960
- NAIA National Champions: 1942, 1949 and 1951
- NAIA runner-ups: 1953
- NCAA Division III Semifinalist: 1977 (Finished in fourth place)
- NCAA Division III Quarterfinalist: 1975
- NCAA Division III All-Tournament Selection: Phil Smyczek, 1977
- NCAA Division III Academic All-Americans: Paul Westling, 1986; John Banovetz, 1989
- University is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
External Links[]
- Official athletics site
- Hamline University on Wikipedia