H. V. Porter | |
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| Born | October 2, 1891 near Manito, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | October 27, 1975 (aged 84) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Illinois State University University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Occupation(s) | athletic administrator, educator |
| Basketball career | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Henry Van Arsdale "H. V." Porter (October 2, 1891 – October 27, 1975) was an American educator, coach, and athletic administrator. He served as the executive secretary of the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations from 1940 to 1958, and prior to his appointment managed several Federation projects while still working for the Illinois High School Athletic Association. Porter was involved with several sports but had special influence on basketball. He served with Oswald Tower on the National Basketball Committee of the United States and Canada for 26 years and was instrumental in the development of the rules films, the fan-shaped backboard, and the molded basketball, which replaced the earlier laced model. He is also credited with popularizing the term "March Madness" through an original essay he wrote in 1939 and a later poem distributed to the various state high school associations and widely republished. In 1960 Porter was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in its second class.