About

College Squash Association

The College Squash Association (CSA) is the governing body overseeing men’s and women’s intercollegiate varsity squash in the United States.

Mission:
To foster national intercollegiate varsity squash competition in service to elevating the values of sportsmanship, integrity and fair-play for all student-athletes, coaches, and their affiliated institutions, encouraging academic excellence and increasing the opportunities to play college squash.

History:
In March of 1931, the men’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association, later known as the National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (NISRA), was founded. This association, which eventually became the Men’s Collegiate Squash Association (MCSA), was initially led by students. In the 1950s, control of the association was transferred to coaches. The U.S Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association, which later became the Women’s College Squash Association (WCSA), was established in 1970.

In May 2017, the WCSA and MCSA dissolved as independent organizations and reformed under a single organization, the Intercollegiate Squash Association, doing business as the CSA. In December 2022, CSA became an independently-managed subsidiary of US Squash, a new corporate structure that formally affiliates squash’s national governing body and its collegiate governing body.

Milestones:

  • 2023: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces squash will make its Olympic debut in LA28, with college squash poised to serve as a key Olympic training ground for elite athletes around the world.
  • 2022: US Squash and CSA enter into a historic alignment and restructuring, creating a united pathway to sustained success for squash on campus and robust growth for squash overall.
  • 2011 – 2022: Eight varsity programs are added to the CSA league, including Columbia University (2011), Drexel University (2012), Dickinson College (2015), Bard College (2017), University of Virginia (2017), Chatham University (2018), Denison University (2022), and Georgetown University (2022).
  • 2015: For the first time ever, the Potter Cup (men’s national team championship) is contested between two non-Ivy League Schools, Trinity College and St. Lawrence University. In addition, it marked the first time two Division III colleges met to compete for the title.
  • 2015: Amanda Sobhy (Harvard University) becomes the second women’s player to win four consecutive intercollegiate singles titles.
  • 2012: Trinity’s 252 match winning streak, the longest winning streak in the history of varsity intercollegiate sports in the United States, ends.
  • 2009: Men’s and Women’s college squash adopts point-a-rally scoring to 11 points.
  • 2006: Yasser El-Halaby (Princeton University) becomes the first men’s player to win four consecutive intercollegiate singles titles.
  • 2003: The women split the 64-person individual singles championship into two draws: A Draw (players seeded 1-32) and B Draw (players seeded 33-64). The A Draw is named in honor of Gail Ramsay, who played at Pennsylvania State University, and the B Draw is named for Demer Holleran, who played at Princeton University. The men establish a second draw at the individual tournament. It is named in honor of Albert Molloy, Jr., the longtime coach of UPenn.
  • 2002: Trinity College becomes the first non-Ivy League school to capture the women’s team championship.
  • 2002: The National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (NISRA) and the Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Association partner to operate under a collective name as the College Squash Association (CSA). Men’s and Women’s college squash continue to operate independent of one another.
  • 2001: Men’s college squash changes its scoring methods from point-a-rally to 15 to nine-point international scoring.
  • 1998: Women’s college squash adds B, C, and D draws to its national team tournament.
  • 1994: Women’s squash changes its  scoring methods from point-a-rally to 15 to nine-point international scoring.
  • 1994: Men’s squash changes from the hardball to the softball.
  • 1993: Women’s squash changes from the hardball to the softball.
  • 1989: Men’s college squash establishes a team tournament to decide the national title.
  • 1980: Gail Ramsay, a Pennsylvania State University student, becomes the first player to win four intercollegiate singles titles.
  • 1973: Princeton University wins the inaugural women’s national intercollegiate team tournament (Howe Cup).
  • 1972: Princeton University coach Betty Howe Constable, Vassar coach Betty Richey, and University of Pennsylvania coach Ann Wetzel organize the United States Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (USWISRA), later known as the Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Association (WISA). The Association eventually becomes the Women’s College Squash Association (WCSA).
  • 1969: Men’s intercollegiate squash expands the Four-Man Trophy competition to include six players, and thus becomes known as the Six-Man Trophy.
  • 1965: The first women’s intercollegiate singles championship is held at Wellesley College. Katherine Allabough of Vassar wins the inaugural event.
  • 1957: The United States Naval Academy becomes the first non-Ivy League school to capture the men’s team title.
  • 1956: Men’s intercollegiate squash adds a team component to its individual tournament, establishing the Four-Man Trophy.
  • 1942: By winning the regular season, Princeton University captures the first men’s national team title.
  • 1932: The first men’s intercollegiate singles tournament is held. Beekman Pool (Harvard University) wins the tournament.
  • 1931: The Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association, later known as the National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (NISRA), is founded.  This association eventually becomes the Men’s College Squash Association (MCSA).