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 Albert Morgan William Albert Morgan William Albert Morgan (born Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, March 6, 1841; died Hutchinson, Kansas, March 24, 1917) was an Irish-American newspaper publisher, politician and prominent citizen of the state of Kansas. Morgan's father James Morgan was an Irish wool comber, farmer and stock raiser. He came to America in 1847 with his four sons after the death of his wife Katherine in 1845, settling in Cincinnati. William Morgan was educated in the public schools and at thirteen entered a printing office to learn that trade. During the Civil War he served in the 23rd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer