The 1908–09 IAAUS men's basketball season began in December 1908, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1909.

Rule changes

* A dribbler was allowed to shoot. Previously, a player could not shoot immediately after dribbling the ball. * The double dribble became illegal, with the dribble defined as "continuous passage of the ball." * A second official was added to games in an attempt to reduce rough play.

Season headlines

* In February 1943, the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...

retroactively selected

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

as its national champion for the 1908–09 season. * In 1995, the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

retroactively selected Chicago as its national champion for the 1908–09 season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners

Conference standings

Independents

A total of 113 college teams played as major independents. Among independents that played at least 10 games, (10–0),

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(13–0), (12–0), and (14–0) were undefeated, and (33–7) finished with the most wins.

Statistical leaders

Awards

Helms College Basketball All-Americans

The practice of selecting a Consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Team did not begin until the 1928–29 season. The

later retroactively selected a list of All-Americans for the 1908–09 season.

Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year:

John Schommer John Joseph Schommer (January 29, 1884 – January 11, 1960) was an American multi-sport athlete in the 1900s. He is considered by some to be the first basketball superstar and one of the first great all-around athletes. The Chicago, Illinois nat ...

(retroactive selection in 1944)

Coaching changes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1908-09 IAAUS Men's Basketball Season