Students at East Tennessee State University are eager to make their campus more active. By participating in competitive sports and activities, both students and faculty are finding ways to relieve the everyday stresses of college through yearly programs like intramurals.
“If students are able to come out and have a positive attitude . they will be able to have that stress reliever while having a fun time,” said Adam Knobloch, Intramural Sports Coordinator in an e-mail interview.
According to ETSU’s Campus Recreation Intramural Sports home page, in 2007, there were more than 80 different intramural teams ranging from Greek life groups such as the Kappa Sigma and Alpha Delta Pi to The Llamas and the Average Joe’s. With a 65 percent to 35 percent male to female ratio, more than 2,000 members of the faculty, staff and student body have taken part in intramurals in the recent school year.
The program is run by an intramural coordinator, intramural graduate assistant and student workers who serve as game officials, game supervisors and scorekeepers. There are a variety of sports offered through intramurals such as soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball, softball, ultimate Frisbee and dodgeball.
Even though intramurals are more so for fun rather than competing for a district or title, they are taken just as seriously; they have captain meetings, penalties and sportsmanship policies; although the program has a strict sportsmanship policy, the most problems occur when students begin to take a game too seriously.
Knobloch said that being able to keep things in perspective will help the player enjoy the game. Knobloch explained that the purpose of intramurals is to have the opportunity to play sports in a structured environment, which many do not get after they graduate from high school. According to Knobloch, friendships that are made through intramural games tend to last even after the student has graduated.
“Since I have been here, I know of several people who have met through intramurals and have ended up getting married,” said Knobloch.
At ETSU, both co-rec and all-men/all-women teams are available depending upon the student’s preference. Co-rec teams are encouraged so that students can learn how men and women can work together to achieve a certain goal. During the past two years as intramural sports coordinator and watching the games, Knobloch has seen that girls often prefer to play on co-rec teams whereas men tend to be more competitive in the men’s league.
“The only thing I don’t like about the co-ed teams is the fact that a lot of boys tend to be ball hogs,” said Tessa White, a sophomore at ETSU.
White has played for the past two years on both co-rec and all-women teams. She said that she prefers playing on co-rec teams, not because she is not competitive, but because something always happens to make that specific game one of the most memorable.
With co-rec teams, certain rules and regulations are made, preventing boys from always passing to boys and girls always passing to girls; it must be at random.
“This eliminates the possibility of the guys taking over the game and not letting the girls participate . and we know they would if they could,” said White.
White believes that playing on co-rec teams makes it more interesting, both to the players and the onlookers, to see how men and women interact with one another within a competitive scenario.
All intramural events are held inside of the CPA, on Campus Recreation fields and occasionally, golf tournaments will be held at a local golf course. However, many students are uninformed about what intramurals are and where they take place.
“I was a freshman at ETSU in 2001 and didn’t know anything about intramurals until my first semester,” said Knobloch.
He explained how important it is for the students to know that ability is not a prerequisite in order to participate in a game. Whether someone has all or no skill, they are welcome to join in on the fun and have a good time. After all, that is what intramurals are all about.
An upcoming event on ETSU’s campus in the annual Spring Fling which is an inaugural event that is held prior to “dead week” to help students escape from any stresses that they may have due to their upcoming exams.
Despite the fact that intramurals are “just for fun,” extramural events are held throughout the year, mainly in flag football. ETSU has been represented at several flag football extramural tournaments at Middle Tennessee State University, Ohio State University, Western Florida University and the University of New Orleans. For the past four years, ETSU has been represented at the National Championship Tournaments in Pensacola, Fl.
With the recent installation of Patriot Bermuda grass on the outdoor playing fields, outdoor scoreboards and with a 28.5 percent increase in major sports, ETSU has upgraded to online registration and a league administration system, saving the university a lot of paper.
“It is basically the Facebook approach to Intramurals,” said Knobloch.
Although many programs at colleges around the country are being cut due to the economic crisis, with more and more students coming out each year to participate, intramurals at ETSU do not look as if they will vanish anytime soon.
“We will continue to expand as long as there is a demand and our facilities allow,” said Knobloch.

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