1903–04 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States

American college basketball season

1903–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Helms National Champions	Columbia (retroactive selection in 1943)
← 1902–03 1904–05 →

The 1903–04 collegiate men's basketball season in the United States began in December 1903, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1904.

Season headlines

In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected Columbia as its national champion for the 1903–04 season.
In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Columbia as its national champion for the 1903–04 season.

Conference membership changes

School	Former Conference	New Conference
Chicago Maroons	No major basketball program	Western Conference
Penn Quakers	Independent	Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League

Regular season

Conference winners

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League	Columbia	None selected	No Tournament
Western Conference	None (see note)	None selected	No Tournament

NOTE: The Western Conference (the future Big Ten Conference) did not sponsor an official conference season or recognize a regular-season champion until the 1905–06 season. In 1903–04, Chicago (7–0) finished with the best winning percentage (1.000) and Purdue (11–2) and Wisconsin (11–4) with the most wins.

1903–04 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Columbia	10	–	0	1.000	17	–	1	.944
Penn	6	–	4	.600	10	–	4	.714
Princeton	5	–	5	.500	10	–	5	.667
Yale	5	–	5	.500	10	–	12	.455
Cornell	3	–	7	.300	6	–	13	.316
Harvard	1	–	9	.100	1	–	9	.100

1903–04 Western Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Chicago†	0	–	0	–	7	–	0	1.000
Purdue	2	–	1	.667	11	–	2	.846
Minnesota	1	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
Iowa	0	–	0	–	6	–	2	.750
Wisconsin	0	–	0	–	11	–	4	.733
Indiana	0	–	2	.000	5	–	4	.556

† Intramural play only; the conference did not have an official champion winner

Independents

A total of 56 college teams played as major independents. Among teams that played at least 10 games, North Dakota Agriultural (11–1) had the best winning percentage (.917), and Fordham (19–5) won the most games.

1903–04 collegiate men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Cumberland (Tenn.)		–		–	4	–	0	1.000
Wisconsin–Stevens Point		–		–	6	–	0	1.000
North Dakota Agricultural		–		–	11	–	1	.917
Illinois State		–		–	7	–	1	.875
Allegheny		–		–	13	–	2	.867
Bloomsburg		–		–	6	–	1	.857
Vanderbilt		–		–	6	–	1	.857
Dayton		–		–	5	–	1	.833
Holy Cross		–		–	10	–	2	.833
Canisius		–		–	9	–	2	.818
Maine		–		–	8	–	2	.800
Fordham		–		–	19	–	5	.792
Hiram		–		–	10	–	3	.769
Denver		–		–	3	–	1	.750
Lehigh		–		–	5	–	2	.714
Ohio State		–		–	10	–	4	.714
Colgate		–		–	12	–	5	.706
Oregon Agricultural		–		–	7	–	3	.700
Williams		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Army		–		–	2	–	1	.667
Connecticut		–		–	6	–	3	.667
Montana State		–		–	4	–	2	.667
Washington		–		–	6	–	3	.667
Washington State		–		–	2	–	1	.667
Grove City		–		–	9	–	5	.643
Nebraska		–		–	9	–	5	.643
Grinnell		–		–	7	–	4	.636
Michigan State		–		–	5	–	3	.625
Baker		–		–	6	–	4	.600
Bucknell		–		–	7	–	5	.583
Syracuse		–		–	11	–	8	.579
Cincinnati		–		–	8	–	6	.571
Colorado		–		–	4	–	3	.571
Dartmouth		–		–	8	–	6	.571
West Virginia		–		–	4	–	3	.571
Penn State		–		–	5	–	4	.556
Wheaton (Ill.)		–		–	10	–	9	.526
Augustana (Ill.)		–		–	1	–	1	.500
Brigham Young		–		–	3	–	3	.500
Butler		–		–	2	–	2	.500
Gettysburg		–		–	4	–	4	.500
Temple		–		–	4	–	4	.500
Utah State		–		–	2	–	2	.500
Mount Union		–		–	4	–	5	.444
Brown		–		–	8	–	11	.421
Kansas		–		–	5	–	8	.385
Wabash		–		–	4	–	7	.364
Wesleyan (Conn.)		–		–	5	–	9	.357
Westminster (Pa.)		–		–	2	–	4	.333
Wooster		–		–	2	–	4	.333
Akron		–		–	3	–	7	.300
Rhode Island A&M		–		–	1	–	3	.250
Kentucky		–		–	1	–	4	.200
Indiana State		–		–	2	–	11	.154
Bradley		–		–	0	–	4	.000
Oregon		–		–	0	–	4	.000

Statistical leaders

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021)

Coaching changes

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021)

References

Scott, Jon (November 9, 2010). "The truth behind the Helms Committee". Retrieved May 13, 2021.
ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. pp. 526, 529–587. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
"2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
"1903-04 Men's Ivy League Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
"1903-04 Men's Western Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
"1903-04 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2024.

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
Pre-regulation	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898-99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06
IAAUS / NCAA pre-Tournament era	1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38
NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Category:

1903–04 in American college basketball