Intramural sports are back in action for all students, featuring 18 different sports to participate in, ranging from tennis to basketball.
“We provide a little something for everybody,” said Kevin Linker, the director of intramurals.
Even though intramurals provide such a vast amount of sports, attendance has gone down this year.
With other activity options near campus such as the Mattoon YMCA or Charleston Parks and Recreation, “students are prioritizing what they want to go into,” according to Linker.
No sororities have signed up for any intramurals this fall season, including Alpha Gamma Delta, who typically plays in almost every intramural.
A big intramural sport is flag football, but only upwards of 11 teams have signed up to play, excluding the fraternity Sigma Pi which is known to “like their points,” according to Linker.
Points are used to score intramurals and come in two types, participation and team points. Participation points are awarded for single and double sports like badminton and 1v1 basketball whereas team points are awarded for sports like dodgeball and soccer. All points contribute to a house score, whether that be a Greek house or a residence hall.
The winners of an intramural story will get to pick up the trophy and have their name added on it on April 1, 2024. Last year’s intramural winners were Sigma Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta and Ford Hall.
Champions will also receive a shirt, just like Mason Bonds, a senior engineering technology major, of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon.
He won last year for being the ping pong champion. He also participated in ping pong during the fall season, but did not win.
“I will go back for it again in the spring,” Bonds said regarding the spring season of intramurals.
With the low participation this year, he has also wished more people knew about and participated in intramurals, something Linker also agreed with.
“There’s some students on campus that just don’t know,” Linker said.
More information on joining intramurals, checking points, viewing the different teams, and contact information can be found on IMLeagues or on Twitter and Instagram @eiu_imsports.
Luke Brewer can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.
