The deadline for intramural sports is June 9, and so far no teams have signed up.

This year, the Student Rec Center is offering men’s and women’s basketball, coed volleyball and coed softball, but like the past couple years, no one has seemed to take an interest.

According to Kevin Linker, director of Intramural Sports, he and his staff always try to offer the more popular team sports, along with a variety of tournaments. However, it’s been a couple years since anything really happened over summer according to Linker.

“Two years ago, we had 20 guys who really wanted to play organized basketball, so it worked. It’s all up to the students,” he said.

Despite the lack of interest, Linker has said someone has signed up for a one-day outdoor singles tennis tournament and there’s also a single elimination racquetball tournament that begins in July.

Other universities have similar problems getting summer participation in intramural sports as well.

At Western Illinois University, 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, a dodge ball tournament, sand volleyball and whiffle ball are offered this summer.

Even though Western graduate assistant and intramural volunteer Mike Chadee has said their sand volleyball has been successful, and as far as he knows there have always been people signing up [for intramurals], he also said you have to work around who is at the school.

“You have to take a look at what you have available, and mold the programs to who’s here, because in the summer you have to be more catering to what they want,” Chadee said.

Northern Illinois does not even offer intramural sports during the summer since they offer so many camps, which bring in more revenue according to Gaylen Mehle, assistant director of intramural sports.

“Nobody’s ever talked to me about wanting anything in the summer,” Mehle said. “This is a campsite for cheerleading camps; 75 percent of high schools in Illinois come here some point in time. We probably won’t be doing [summer intramurals] in the future, since we’d be losing out with the camps.”

A men’s and women’s softball league, coed volleyball team and an outdoor soccer tournament will take place at Southern Illinois if enough sign up once classes begin Monday.

“It gives them something to do. The relationships they’ll make could last a lifetime. Without a question it’ll have a strong impact on retention of students,” Bill McMinn, director of Intramurals at Southern said.

Linker contributes the drop off in summer intramurals to people wanting to go away for the summer, finding it hard to get people to play or people who will be willing to commit in the summer.

“I did add a bags tournament two summers ago; participation has always been

sporadic,” Linker said. “That’s one of the problems we face is knowing who’s available to get on your team.”

For more information on how to sign up contact Linker at 581-7000, or just visit the Student Rec. Center.