  In a series of two papers we investigate the universal spectral statistics of
chaotic quantum systems in the ten known symmetry classes of quantum mechanics.
In this first paper we focus on the construction of appropriate ensembles of
star graphs in the ten symmetry classes. A generalization of the
Bohigas-Giannoni-Schmit conjecture is given that covers all these symmetry
classes. The conjecture is supported by numerical results that demonstrate the
fidelity of the spectral statistics of star graphs to the corresponding
Gaussian random-matrix theories.
