Intramural sports offer community

Texas Tech intramurals offers sports in many skill levels for students to get involved on campus, meet new friends and stay fit. 

With different leagues and tournaments, many students decide to participate in intramural sports, Jared McCauley, the program director of intramurals, said. There are typically over 200 flag football teams every fall semester. 

A team costs $25 to $50 dollars, McCauley said, but students should not allow costs to affect their participation because it will all be refunded at the end of the season if the team does not forfeit a game. 

“It’s a great thing to do with your friends. It’s a way to make a memory,” McCauley said. “It’s all about building community and having fun.”

James Blanton, a senior accounting major from Plano, is the intramural chair for Beta Upsilon Chi. Blanton said he has met a lot of good friends by participating in intramurals, and it is a good way to build relationships. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity to get to meet people, build community, have fun and lose some weight,” Blanton said. 

With different leagues and tournaments students can get involved in, Blanton said he plays almost every intramural sport offered because he loves testing his abilities and playing multiple sports all in one week.

As a member of Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity, Blanton said it means a lot to him to be able to pray with the teams after the game, so they can share a little bit of Christ with everyone. 

Members in sororities and fraternities are under watch this semester because Greek leagues were banned from intramurals for over two years due to unsportsmanlike behavior. Now that Greek leagues have returned, it allows for sorority and fraternity teams to only play other sorority and fraternity teams.  

Brayden Cook, the director of intramurals for the Interfraternity Council, said without the Greek league, he felt they were all divided, so this allows for more of a sense of community. 

Cook said his responsibility is to ensure all Greek leagues run smoothly this year and fix any problems that may arise in the sorority and fraternity league.  

“Other than the physical fitness and exercise aspect of it, it’s a good way to get out and meet people,” he said. “It’s really good to be on a team. I think it builds people skills.”

With sportsmanship being a key component, a team could lose every game and still go to the playoffs if they have good sportsmanship. Once teams get to the playoffs, teams will only advance if they win.

For a league, seasons for a sport last about a month, including flag football, volleyball, softball and indoor soccer for the fall. The intramural office also hosts flash tournaments that are individual events available for archery, disc golf, tennis, dodgeball and more. 

A list of intramural sport registration and season dates are available online at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/recsports/intramurals/teamregistration.php.

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