110 YEARS OF KANSAS BASKETBALL
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Above: Marion Washington took over as head coach for the Jayhawks in the early 1970s after three coaches had come and gone during a five-year period.
The Kansas program began in 1968, 70 years after the game was invented
BY BEN ASHWORTH
The year is 1898, a monumental year in the history of Kansas basketball as James Naismith, the proclaimed inventor of basketball, becomes the coach of the first Kansas basketball team. Fast forward to 1968, a full 70 years later. In a year noted for the Tet Offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King,and the release of the Beatles' self-titled "White Album," women's basketball finally came to the University of Kansas.
In 1896, two years before men's basketball began at Kansas, the first intercollegiate women's basketball game was played between Stanford and Cal-Berkeley. While the score was a scintillating 2-1, a score often bested by pee-wee hockey games, it was a landmark game that signified the upcoming presence of women's basketball in the United States.
During the next 70 years, most universities attempted to create women's basketball programs. Some programs, like the Tennessee Volunteers, who later became a noted women's basketball powerhouse, abandoned their programs in the 1920s because of low interest and short seasons, only to bring their program back in the 1960s. Women's basketball did not even have a national championship process until 1982, when Louisiana Tech won.
During the Lady Jayhawks' first five years, they saw three coaches come and go. Marlene Mawson, Debbie Artman, and Sharon Drysdale coached three years, one year and one year respectively, each one able to maintain a winning record.
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1974-1975: The Hawks were the Big 8 Champs with a 19-8 overall record.
1975-1976: The Jayhawks tied for fourth in the Big 8 with a 6-8 record and went 13-13 for the season.
Come hungry. iHOP Leave happy.
Give the gift of breakfast with an IHOP gift card.
KANSAS BASKETBALL
...a tradition like no other.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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