In Minnesota high school girls basketball history, it’s a golden time

Next year’s girls basketball state tournament will be the 50th conducted by the MSHSL.

This year’s state tournament is also a 50th anniversary — of the first championship season for girls basketball in Minnesota.

In the early 1970s, girls basketball grew quickly statewide. By 1972, there were 172 teams, the next year 220. The 1974-75 school year saw more than 400 girls basketball teams competing — about half in the fall and half in the winter.

“When the MSHSL adopted girls sports programs in 1969, member schools could set up teams in any girls sport and compete in invitational and district/regional tournaments in any season they and neighboring schools wished,” former Minnesota State High School League associate director Dorothy McIntyre said.

McIntyre said the teams were split primarily geographically.

“The western half of the state chose the fall season,” McIntyre said. “The gyms were empty with boys outside, basketball officials were available and fans came to the games and enjoyed it. The eastern side of the state chose the winter season. Volleyball was seen as another great team sport for girls and it could be in the fall with open gyms and little conflict for space. Girls basketball could be shared with existing boys teams.”

So the 1974-75 school year saw two champions crowned in girls basketball.

On Nov. 23, 1974, Glencoe defeated Wadena 46-29 at Halenbeck Hall at St. Cloud State in the championship game of the fall season state tournament. The victory capped an unbeaten season (21-0) and was the 54th consecutive for Glencoe, coached by Jan Willand.

Three months later, on Feb. 21, 1975, at Osseo High School, Holy Angels defeated LeSueur 39-32 in the championship game of the winter tournament.

In October 1974, a month before the fall tournament, the MSHSL Board of Directors voted to make basketball a “winter” sport beginning in the 1975-76 season. The decision had critics. A Wadena, Minn., radio station surveyed 68 athletic directors in its area — 65 favored basketball as a fall sport, two favored it as a winter sport and one was undecided.

After the decision was made, McIntyre told the Minneapolis Tribune: “You set objectives for the overall program, and our aim is to bring the programs together so we have a fall team sport and a winter team sport for girls. We have already established track as a spring team sport for girls.

“There are more than 300 schools in our girls volleyball program now, even though many are competing against fall basketball at their schools. We want to give girls a statewide program of team sports in each season of the year. Basketball and volleyball are the two biggest, and eventually all schools are going to have programs. Obviously, one must be during the fall and one during the winter.”

In March 1976, the first “official” state tournament — with two classes — was held at Met Sports Center in Bloomington. St. Paul Central (Class 2A) and Redwood Falls (Class 1A) were the first official champions.

The basketball tournament joined the growing list of girls state tournaments sanctioned by the MSHSL as Title IX, passed in 1972, had effects. The first was track and field in 1972, followed by gymnastics, tennis and volleyball in 1974-75. In addition to basketball, cross-country, skiing and swimming were added in 1975-76.

Finally, while this year’s tournament is the golden anniversary of the first championship season for girls basketball in the state, it isn’t the anniversary of the first girls state tournament.

In February 1974, teams from private high schools gathered at Concordia College (now Concordia University) in St. Paul for the Minnesota State Independent Girls Tournament. The teams were St. Margaret’s, Holy Angels, Rochester Lourdes, Winsted Holy Trinity, St. Bernard’s, Edgerton Southwest Christian, Hill-Murray and Mayer Lutheran. St. Margaret’s defeated St. Bernard’s in the championship game. In May 1974, the MSHSL approved 34 private schools as members of the MSHSL, beginning in 1975-76.