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As basketball was founded by the YMCA, which is a Christian institution, the spread of the game coincided also with missionary and medical activities undertaken. Soon, the YMCA used basketball as part of its work abroad and within North America. This helped to popularize not only the YMCA but also the game itself.<ref> For more on the early spread of basketball, see: Naismith, J. (1996) Basketball: its origin and development. Bison Books ed. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.</ref>

Similar to American football, colleges became key places for spreading basketball (Figure 2). With long winter months in many parts of the United States, people increasingly sought recreation during this time. Colleges developed indoor gymnasiums that soon became taken over with basketball courts, spreading the popularity of the game. This soon led to the organization of college basketball teams. New rules, including dribbling and concept of fouling out of games, developed. By the end of the 1910s, most of the rules that are with us today had developed. However, what did not develop were professional teams, as the early professional teams had to fold.<ref>For an early history on college basketball, see: Anon (2009) OCLC: 472605763. Summitt: a pictorial retrospective of college basketball’s greatest coach. Battle Ground, WA, Pediment Pub.</ref>

Similar to baseball, however, it was war and the rapidly changing economy that developed that helped to shape how basketball spread. In the 1910s and going into World War I, the spread of soldiers to different parts of the country and world brought basketball to new places. In fact, the first official international games occurred as a result of World War I, as the allies created teams that competed in the so-called Inter-Allied Games. Domestically, basketball continued to spread in colleges in the 1920s and 1930s, even as the professional leagues had not developed. Disorganization and the Great Depression likely prevented basketball from becoming professional. By 1938 and 1939, the development of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament developed, which are still present. The University of Oregon was the NCAA's first winner with a score of 46-33 against Ohio State. <ref>For a post-war history of basketball, see: Mark Dyreson & J. A. Mangan (eds.) (2007) OCLC: ocm63397310. Sport and American society: exceptionalism, insularity, and ‘imperialism’. Sport in the global society. London ; New York, Routledge, pg. 46.</ref>

Domestically, basketball continued to spread in colleges in the 1920s and 1930s, even as the professional leagues had not developed. Disorganization and the Great Depression likely prevented basketball from becoming professional. By 1938 and 1939, the development of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament developed, which are still present. The University of Oregon was the NCAA's first winner with a score of 46-33 against Ohio State.    In 1937 and 1946, the National Basketball League (NBL) and Basketball Association of America (BAA) were created respectively. While the NBL eventually had to fold, some of its teams and the BAA merged into what became the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949.<ref>For an early history of professional basketball, see: Nelson, M.R. (2009) OCLC: 431502825. The National Basketball League: a history, 1935-1949. [Online]. Jefferson, N.C., McFarland & Co. Available from: http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1593750 [Accessed: 10 August 2016].</ref>