The Intramural Sports Program at California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) first began on October 31, 1952 with a softball game between faculty and seniors.
Fast forward to today and a campus visitor may now find students participating in wheelchair basketball, soccer dart tournaments or Sacramento State’s Adventure Race. All these unique options are what Andrew Reddish, the assistant director of Intramurals and Student Staff Development at Sacramento State, said helps meet the ever-changing needs of the student body.
“For our Intramural Sports Program to change and evolve with our students, it’s important we offer a variety of recreation activities at different days and times,” said Reddish. “To keep up with our students, we conduct semesterly surveys and talk to our participants to receive feedback on their experience. We can’t just say we know what our students want. We need to hear from them.”
Creative offerings can also be found at the University of Connecticut (UConn) where skydiving, Timbersports, innertube water polo and bubble soccer are available for students to participate in.
Bhavin Parekh, the associate director of Competitive Sports at UConn, said his department’s focus is simply for students to be active regardless of what activity it is.
EXTRA CREDIT: Diver deeper into Sacramento State and UConn.
“We are trying to offer as many options as possible,” said Parekh. “Everyone talks about mental health so much now and being active goes along with that. It’s about feeling connected on campus.”
As Parekh pointed out, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the need for connection to the forefront of UConn Rec. During this time, he said they offered socially distanced sports like curling, Kan Jam and mini golf.
“We tried to offer some outliers that didn’t ask for too much commitment from the students,” said Parekh. “Intramurals are always shifting around. Right now it seems like intramural numbers are down across the nation. We are trying to figure out how to keep students engaged. We still offer the traditional formats, but we want to challenge what else we can offer. “
One effective strategy both Parekh and Reddish found is providing single-day and weekend tournaments across a variety of activities. This is where Sacramento State’s Adventure Race hopes to see continued success.
“It’s a unique program we run here that combines climbing, swimming, running and biking,” said Reddish. “Teams acquire points at each area with a unique scoring system and the team with the most points at the end of the race is the winner. It’s a very energizing and special event that brings numerous departments together to collaborate.”
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Another way to meet students is by starting a free agent system to join intramural teams of their liking. This allows them to create their own connections. Parekh said they distribute this structure through Fusion’s rec management software. At Sacramento State, Reddish said they employ IMLeagues to connect participants with their creative programming.
But even the best strategies and ideas can fail if not properly managed. Saying “no” can sometimes lead a program to greater success in the future.
“The trick is to try and stay within your means,” said Parekh. “There are so many challenges that come up. You want to be realistic as to what you can accommodate and stay within what’s reasonable. Understand the balance. Sometimes you have to say no, but we do offer opportunities for most groups. In the end, do your best to realistically improve the lives of students.”
