Women's Basketball in 1905

Rooting for the UConn basketball teams is a deep-seated Mansfield tradition.

The Connecticut Agricultural College’s men’s team played its first game in 1901 versus Willimantic High School. The following year, the first women’s team won against Willimantic High School—twice.

Back then, one rooted for the “Aggies.” It wasn’t until 1933, when the CAC became the Connecticut State College, that the mascot was changed. In 1944, the Connecticut Campus student newspaper ran a survey, and the resulting mascot was the husky dog.

Here is a photograph of the women’s team, taken on March 13, 1905.

Here are the names of those depicted, exactly as written on the back of the photograph:

“BACK ROW: Mr. Chapman, coach, Esther Tooky, Olive ?, Annie Clark, Roxana Wilbur, Lena

Hurlbut, Bob Griswald

MIDDLE ROW: Mrs. Helen Stimson, wife of Pres. Stimson, sponsor, Bessie Donovan, Grace

Sage, Emma Smith

FRONT ROW: Cara Grant (Garrigus), Nora Iola Shurtliff, Daisy Masan (Marrisan)”

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If You’d Like to Learn More:

• Chronology of Mansfield, Connecticut: 1702-2002. Mansfield, Conn.: Mansfield Historical   Society, 2003. 
• "Timeline." The UConn Story. University of Connecticut. 2006. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
• "Traditions." The UConn Story. University of Connecticut. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.

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