FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Prior to the 1972 passage of Title IX, women’s basketball was a minor sport in the United States, but teams were sponsored by companies such as Cook’s Goldblume Beer and Sun Oil Co. and by obscure colleges such as Iowa Wesleyan and Wayland Baptist as part of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

During the two generations of the mid-twentieth century, women’s basketball improved and became more popular throughout the country. AAU All-Star teams dominated women’s international basketball until the emergence of subsidized national teams in the 1960s.

“Just for Fun: The Story of AAU Women’s Basketball” by Robert W. Ikard (Cloth $24.95), just released by the University of Arkansas Press, is the first history of these gifted women, their coaches, and their teams - their records, motivations, and personal stories.

Extensively illustrated with many period photographs, “Just for Fun” thoroughly explores the complex history of the Amateur Athletic Union’s women’s basketball program and brings to light the four decades of women’s basketball all but forgotten in the current success of women’s athletics.

The women who played on these AAU teams helped to lay the foundation for women’s athletics today. Most of the teams came from central and southern states, and most of the players had rural origins. Women from Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Tennessee, and Arkansas competed at an elite level unknown to their city sisters.

Sue Gunter, former head coach of the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers, calls the book a “wonderful tribute to a forgotten era of women’s basketball, an exciting and fun read.” Rick Telander, sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, says, “If there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to know about women’s amateur hoops, it’s in 'Just for Fun.’”

Robert W. Ikard is a thoracic surgeon, basketball enthusiast, and amateur historian who lives in Nashville, Tenn. He is available for interviews.