Sports in New England the New England Dragway facility in Epping, New Hampshire as one of the very few remaining dragstrips in the New England region. Additionally, four colleges compete at the Division I level in ice hockey only: American International and Bentley College compete in the Atlantic Hockey Association, while Merrimack and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell compete in Hockey East and America East in the second half of 2013. Sports in New England Two popular American sports were invented in New England. Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts,
William Yoast Morgan the state legislature. Morgan's mother Wilhelmina (Yoast) Morgan (1843-1910) was active in civic organizations and politics, serving as mayor of Cottonwood Falls in 1885. Morgan himself was educated in Cottonwood Falls and then at the state university in Lawrence, majoring in journalism. Morgan married Colie Adair (1872-1958) in November 1890; they had one daughter, Claudia (d. 1958) After working at the "Lawrence Journal" for two years, Morgan purchased and edited the "Republican" in Strong City. He sold that paper after four years and purchased the "Emporia Daily Gazette"; he operated that until selling it to William Allen White in 1895.