When stepping foot on any college campus across the country, you are bound to run into someone who participates in intramurals.
They are a genuinely fun way to stay active and in shape without having to hit the gym or exercise by yourself at home.
They can also be a way for former high school athletes to satisfy their competitive drive, despite not playing any sports for their university. Lipscomb offers a multitude of intramural sports for any students interested in playing.
However, one sport always brings in more participants, and brings out more of those participants’ competitive spirit. That sport is basketball.
“Basketball is the most popular of all the sports we’ve done this year,” said Evan McGee, a graduate assistant for campus recreation.
McGee is in charge of the intramurals on campus, and he says more students signed up for basketball this semester than any of the other sports that they offer.
There are three leagues for intramural basketball: the men’s independent league, which features a competitive and a recreational division, the women’s independent league, which has just one division and the social club league, where the school’s social clubs can form a team and compete against each other.
In all, there are an astounding 39 teams competing in intramural basketball at Lipscomb this year, including 22 teams in the men’s recreational league alone.
The rise of participants in the recreational league over the past few years can be attributed to the sheer difficulty of the competitive league, where it is not uncommon to see athletes from Lipscomb’s other sports teams playing on each team.
There are even a few members of the school’s basketball team who compete in intramural basketball because they are sitting out their season with a redshirt.
“I think a lot of teams that have played in the competitive league in the past realized that that their best opportunity for a championship would be to switch to the recreational league,” said Matthew Abplanalp, director of campus recreation.
“And then, of course, there are some people who don’t have as much of a competitive drive when it comes to basketball who are out to just have fun and get exercise, which is great because that is what intramurals is really all about,” Abplanalp said.
The championships that Abplanalp referred to have become such a big deal on campus that last year the they were played in Allen Arena as opposed to the Student Activity Center, the usual site.
Fans that packed in to see the best of the numerous intramural squads square off for the championship were given free pizza last year. The move was a success and the campus recreation team plans to hold the championship rounds in Allen Arena again this season.
Aside from playing the championship games in Allen Arena and hosting redshirt basketball players, intramural basketball has another connection to the Lipscomb basketball team. Many of the league’s referees are members of the Bisons basketball team.
After going through somewhat of a revamping project with the referees, McGee says he is really proud of how well the refs have performed this year.
“I’d like to give a shout out to my referees this year,” McGee said. “My referees this year are, I think, top of the line. They’re doing a great job and are really trustworthy.”
Although the competitive league lives up to its name by being extraordinarily competitive, there is a place for everyone in the intramural basketball leagues at Lipscomb.
Whether you want to play for fun with friends, compete against other social clubs with your fellow club members or dive for every loose ball and fight for every rebound on the way to the competitive league championship, then there is a team for you.
Anyone interested in signing up for basketball in the future or any of the other intramural sports can go to imleagues.com.
All three championship games are tomorrow night in Allen Arena. The games take place at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.. All students can get in free, and there will be entertainment in between games.
The author was a participant on an intramural basketball team this season.