In 1900, its inaugural season, the Brigham Young Academy women’s basketball team was the local champion—a feat the athletes accomplished sporting skirts, bloomers, caps, and ties. BYA then had just three other school-sponsored teams: football, baseball, and track and field. Men’s basketball came in 1902.
While it didn’t secure a championship, the BYU women’s basketball team did make a deep run in the 2014 edition of March Madness, upsetting NC State and Nebraska to reach the Sweet 16 (see p. 4). Since 1900—and particularly since the 1972 passage of Title IX legislation—women’s collegiate sports have exploded; BYU now has 10 women’s NCAA teams.
