Intramural Sports Grows Student Life at KU

Arriving at the University of Kansas by himself, Ben Van Sloun needed to find a place to belong. Through campus staff, Ben was able to find information about intramural sports and the KU Recreation Services center, a place for students to sign up for activities and build connections and skills within sports. 

“Intramural sports was one of the first organizations I ever joined at KU. It gave me something to do after class and a new place to meet other freshmen,” Van Sloun, a senior at the University of Kansas, said.

Intramural sports have been one of the biggest hubs for student connection on the KU campus. Students can choose from over 30 competitive sports leagues to participate in. No matter the season, students are able to join as many leagues as they like, with endless options from individual sports to team sports. =

“We have 3,000 annual unique participants. That would be if a student is on three teams, we only count the student once as a unique participant. So that's about 3,000 Jayhawks every year in our program,” Jon Randle, assistant director of intramural sports, said.

Beyond the unique participants, intramural sports also give students the opportunity to grow professionally, as the program is bound to only hire students as staff. This allows students to work in the front office, coordinating billing statements, organizing events, and representing the program. They also have the option to get involved on the field as a referee for any of the available sports. 

“The most rewarding thing is taking that student who has never officiated ever before in their life, teaching them a new skill and watching them go out and utilize that new skill and be successful with that new skill,” Randle said.

Intramural sports gain popularity on campus due to the number of participants, but also the accessibility for many college students. The cost of the intramurals ranges from $11.05 to $21.58, with some having no fee at all. Josie Petrulis, a student intramural sports employee, hopes pricing for the program can remain on the lower end to accommodate all students who want to participate. 

“I love that we don’t overcharge for intramural sports. I believe our organization is for the students and needs to be catered to students,” Petrulis said.

For the future, the intramural sports staff is hoping to gain more momentum with tournaments and awards, making sure all students get something out of the program no matter if they win or lose. As of right now, the intramural sports program partners with the Granada Theatre.  Awarding a player once a week with two free tickets to any show based on participation and sportsmanship.

“Each week, we name a Granada Player of the Week. This individual is nominated and selected by our staff for showing outstanding sportsmanship,” Randle said.

When it comes to participation, the program is overwhelmed by the number of students willing to join. Staff hopes to keep the numbers steady but also understand that they have a capacity due to staff numbers.

“I think at some point you start sacrificing quality over quantity. Our program is based on our facility and staff size, we have restraints on the number of teams that we could have, and I think we're starting to get close to that,” Randle said.

For many students, intramural sports have been more than just friendly competition, but a place to connect with others and have personal growth along the way. As the program moves forward, the staff hopes to improve the experience and maintain the quality of the program.