Battling for the Hardwood The Early History of Women’s Basketball at Indiana University, 1890–1928

Abstract

This article examines the creation and development of women’s athletics, specifically women’s basketball, on the Indiana University campus and assesses the role of pioneering staff and faculty—particularly Juliette Maxwell, the director of women’s athletics from 1896 to 1928. Maxwell and her colleagues actively pursued the development of women’s physical education as more than an elective and created a department that facilitated a wide variety of athletic opportunities for collegiate women.