Get in the Game: Intramural program provides new options
What is lots of fun, gives you great opportunities to exercise, and helps you meet new people?
Cornell’s intramural program!
The 2024–25 intramural program is already underway for the year. In fact, students have already participated in sand volleyball, flag football, and slip-n-slide kickball this fall.
The intramural options have doubled since last year with the traditional fan favorites like basketball and flag football and some new additions like wiffle ball, ping pong, and slip-n-slide kickball.
“Almost every Sunday we have an intramural, and we’ve come up with all kinds of options to get students active and involved,” said Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Zach Schlabaugh, who coordinates Cornell’s intramural program. “It’s all just for fun so you don’t have to be highly skilled to play any of the intramurals. We encourage students to sign up and try something new!”
Schlabaugh works with a team of students who also help organize the events. Junior Ryan Allen is one of those students. As one of his Ingenuity in Action experiences, he’s organizing the setup and teardown process for each sport and usually officiates them too. He works to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“My favorite part about intramurals is getting to see the competitiveness of other people on campus,” Allen said. “We often get very focused on our classes here as students, especially on the block plan, so getting to see people take some time for themselves and do something they enjoy is always great to watch. My favorite sports to watch are typically basketball and flag football because these are the sports that I grew up in and I have always had such a deep love for both of them.”
In addition to the new events, there’s also a new app and website where students can easily sign up to participate in an upcoming intramural.
“As we all know, college can be a stressful time and intramurals can be a nice study break,” Schlabaugh said. “There are great health benefits to physical activity and just seeing students smile as they participate is amazing. We love it when people come with an open mind and no expectations other than to have fun.”
Students who participate can also earn points for the Big Horn Challenge–an ongoing challenge among the residence halls. Students can receive points just for participating and points for winning an intramural competition.
Allan says he wants to remind Cornellians that intramurals are for everyone.
“One thing that I think most people do not know about intramurals on campus is that it is open to anyone,” Allan said. “Students are allowed to sign up as a team or individually and they can join a team once they arrive. Even if the sport going on is not something that you are interested in playing, it is also always open for any students interested to come watch to take a break from whatever they have going on.”
If you’re looking for which intramurals are coming up, keep an eye on the bulletin board outside of the Hilltop Café. You can also find all the intramurals on the Campus Calendar.
