On Sunday night, Collins Center was bustling. Sweat was dripping down each player’s face as they hustled up and down the court. Baker students were scattered in the stands watching the action and there was a sense of competitiveness in the air as each second ticked away during the two 20-minute halves.
Baker University’s 5-on-5 intramural basketball season had officially started.
For the next four weeks, it will be intramural madness on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights in Collins Center.
With 15 teams competing, Baker intramural director Randy Flowers is pleased with the enthusiasm and participation in the basketball tournament.
“Each team has about eight players, so we’re looking at 100-plus students and faculty competing,” Flowers said. “I think with those numbers you can tell they really enjoy playing.”
Flowers joked that the teams probably have more fun, “when they’re not fighting,” due to the high level of intensity shown on the court.
For sophomore Alex Stebbins, this is his second year being involved in the intramural competition. As a Baker football player, Stebbins thinks participating in different sports through intramurals is a fun way to stay involved.
“I enjoy the high level of competitiveness with all the athletes from different sports playing intramural basketball,” Stebbins said. “I also like that it’s still laid back enough that I can joke around with my buddies while playing.”
Stebbins’s team is made up of football, baseball and track athletes and he is confident they will “tough it out and make it past the playoffs.”
Only the toughest teams will survive past Feb. 21, when the 5-on-5 basketball tournament playoffs begin. The championship game is scheduled for Feb. 24.
Although the basketball competition may be serious to some, it isn’t the most extreme of all the intramural sports at Baker. According to Flowers, volleyball is.
“I think it’s one of the most competitive sports because you actually get to play against the (Baker women’s) volleyball team,” senior Laeth Hamil said. “You don’t get to do that in many of the other intramurals and I think that just amps up everybody who is involved.”
Hamil has competed in the volleyball tournament each year he has attended Baker and prides his team on the fact that they beat the Baker volleyball team last year.
“I think we’re going to do good because we have some guys on the team that used to play volleyball,” Hamil said. “It takes a team effort to play the sport and with our skills, hopefully we can do just as well as we did last year and even beat the varsity team again.”
While sports like basketball and volleyball have attracted many students to participate in intramurals, there is one activity which didn’t gain as much interest as Flowers would have liked.
“We were unable to get enough people to play an official badminton tournament, which is one that I was going to compete in,” Flowers said. “If we can get enough student interest, there is a possibility that we will add the sport in the future.”
Flowers recommends that students and faculty contact him or the intramurals board in Harter Union if they are interested in signing up to play or be a referee for any intramural sport. Information on softball and tennis, which are two other sports to be included in the intramurals schedule later in the semester, will be posted there as well.
