 In 1896, a team from the school began to participate in a league with the Agriculture school, YMCA teams, and other local associations.The establishment of the Armory on-campus gave the team a new place to play.In February 1897, L. J. Cooke, a director of the Minneapolis YMCA, was hired on a part-time basis to coach the basketball program, and became the full-time coach and director of physical education by the fall of that year.