Dylan Scott
Reporter
The W’s intramural sports department held a flag football championship and tailgate on Oct. 15, giving students the chance to connect in an active environment.
The flag football season had been going on for roughly three weeks before the championship. The campus radio station, WMUW 88.5FM, was aired over a loudspeaker with music for the students. Social clubs sold food at the tailgate party.
The women’s championship game started at 4 p.m. I.V. League won, scoring 26 points. Their competition, the Highlanders, scored only seven. At 5 p.m., the men’s championship game began. The Outlaws won in overtime.
Eric Harlan, a referee for intramurals as well as a communication instructor, said sports are a part of the college experience, and since the W does not have intercollegiate sports, intramural sports are a great way to meet new people and be active.
"We have academic programs here that you can't get anywhere else, and we have a lot of people who played sports in grade school, middle school [and] high school. Now, all of a sudden, here they are at MUW, studying nursing or education or something like that, and they can't play their favorite sport. Well, at least now they get a chance to play a sport,” Harlan said.
Katie Newman, head supervisor of the intramural office, agreed that intramural sports are important, and that the intramural office tries to make many sports options open and available for anyone to join.
She participates in the sports, too.
“I played the first game, but basically, the whole time I’m out there, I look for injuries. I look for dehydration. Anything like that – that’s my main priority,” Newman said.
Newman also said that there is no experience needed in the sport a student would want to play, and students can come by her office. Newman’s office is located just past the vending machine in Stark.
Dream Team quarterback, James Jourdan, did not play high school football prior to playing flag football.
"Well, the most challenging thing for us trying to figure out, like, a basic—really, an offense that worked for us, ‘cause we were trying, like, a whole bunch of different things and, like, some things worked, and then we tried the same thing and it didn’t work, and we don’t have that, like, really one play, and we didn’t know what else to do,” Jourdan said.
He also said that there are many people who come to The W having played a sport in high school and that intramural sports is a great way to connect those people and anyone else wanting to play.
If anyone is interested in joining an intramural team, they can visit www.IMleagues.com, search for Mississippi University for Women, and make a profile to sign up. Students can also sign up with Katie Newman in Stark.