Northern Iowa’s first basketball game against Waverly High School was played on January 16, 1903, in the Northern Iowa gymnasium in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The game was played with six players on each team, as was the standard at the time. Northern Iowa won the game by a score of 40-8, with the Cedar Falls Record reporting that “Northern Iowa was never in danger” and that “the Waverly boys were outclassed at every point.” The Northern Iowa team was led by coach J. M. Coles, who was also the school’s football coach at the time. The team went on to play a total of six games in its first season, winning four and losing two.