Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. The institution confers undergraduate and graduate degrees.Known as the birthplace of basketball, the sport was invented there in 1891 by a Canadian-American instructor, James Naismith. The college's philosophy of "humanics... calls for the education of the whole person—in spirit, mind, and body—for leadership in service to others." It is symbolized by an inverted triangle surrounding a lamp of learning.