In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, an era of narrowly circumscribed female roles, basketball created tension by expanding women's opportunities for competitive athletic activity. The characteristics which made it popular with women--spontaneity, freedom of movement, and vigorous team play--contradicted prevailing ideals of feminine behavior, which were understood to be demure, restrained, and passive. The response to women's basketball exemplifies the ambiguity of women's education in late 19th- and early 20th-century America, and the controversy continued throughout the first half of the 20th century. Basketball for girls and women has been called "the bane of four generations of collegiate educators." Educators, youth workers, towns, schools, colleges, and players themselves have promoted women's basketball for a variety of conflicting reasons. And, despite controversy, regulation, and rule modification, basketball has remained one of the most popular sports for women. The author, in discussing competition vs. recreation in the early development of women's basketball (1891-1922), concentrates on three topics: (1) the game's rapid acceptance as a collegiate and secondary school activity; (2) the phenomenon of rule modifications for female players; and (3) the effect of sex role ideology on the attitudes of physical educators. (JMK)