College students love free things: free food, free events and, especially for Ouachita students, free t-shirts. Intramural athletics offered students the chance to compete in friendly competition with fellow students, and the prize for winning: none other than a free t-shirt, THE t-shirt to be exact.
“Intramurals are great because they give every student the opportunity to compete against one another,” said Alan Greenwood, recreational sports director. “In the end, the chance to have bragging rights is the biggest plus for most students. The championship t-shirt is like the ‘Holy Grail’ on the Ouachita campus.”
Six different intramural sports were offered, those being flag football, dodgeball, volleyball, basketball, soccer and softball. All students could participate in the sports, forming teams of their own choices. Under the direction of Greenwood, along with assistant directors Jake Hilburn and Ben Clardy, the program was, as always, a big success on campus.
In the fall, flag football was the first opportunity to participate. “True Breed” took the title for the lower division. “Team Rex Horne,” three-year-reigning champions for the men’s upper division, came in to win it once again, defeating the men of Kappa Chi in the division championship.
“To be with those guys as they won their fourth and last tournament (before graduating) was fun, and I’m glad that I could help them with that achievement,” said David Street, a sophomore biology major from Cherokee Village and member of “Team Rex Horne.” “I was happy that I could add a little to the team and that we were able to win and to keep the tradition alive for one last year.”
In women’s flag football, “Crawford Crushers,” a team of freshmen girls, won the lower division. “Freshmen 15” walked away with the title in the upper division. This team was made up of a group of senior girls who started the team as freshmen and continued all four years. They finally left their legacy when they defeated the women of EEE in the championship game.
“Freshmen fifteen was the best bonding experience I had at OBU,” said Audreyanna Harrell, a senior communication sciences major from Russellville. “We didn’t know much about flag football freshman year, but we kept growing and the effort paid off with a championship this year!”
At the end of the fall semester, dodgeball and volleyball seasons were played simultaneously. “The Wreckin’ Crew” earned the championship t-shirt for men’s dodgeball and “Dodge Ballin’” for women’s.
On the volleyball court, “Llab Yellov” wore the shirt home for the co-ed division, while “Intentional Grounding” earned the title in the men’s division.
“Our team should have really been called Jordan Neal and friends,” said Beau Landers, a junior Christian studies major from Allen, Texas and member of “Intentional Grounding.” “He’s incredible.”
With the spring came a whole new lot of intramural athletics. Basketball started in January and had the most participants next to flag football. In the men’s league, “El Tigre” won the upper division, “The Rhinos” the middle division, and “The Red Shirts” the lower division. The women’s lower division champions were “The Has Beens.”
In the upper women’s league, the championship game was notable. Fans packed into the stands of Bill Vining Arena to witness the event between “Powerhouse” and “EEE Hardcore.” “Powerhouse” walked away with the title.
“Even though we lost, it was awesome to see so many people there cheering us on,” said Melissa Elliott, a sophomore communication sciences major from Little Rock and member of “EEE Harcore.” “It made the game really exciting!”
Soccer and softball were the last two seasons for intramurals. In the women’s soccer division, “Backatcha” defeated the women of Tri Chi in the championship. The men’s upper division soccer champion team was “Man U Wish You Were Us,” a group of guys from the OBU soccer team. “Cole’s Meatheads” walked away with the shirt in the lower men’s division.
The men’s softball tournament ended with “The Crow Hoppers” winning the title. Garrett Berg, a freshman athletic training major from Janesville, Wisconsin, earned four home runs in the tournament to help lead the team to victory.
“We just took one game at a time,” said Berg. “When we got to the tournament, we got really hot and when we got to the championship we weren’t going down without a fight.”
In the co-ed softball division, “We Got the Runs” won the championship title and the shirt to prove their glory.
In the end, only 17 teams walked away with “Holy grails,” but the fun and fellowship of intramural athletics lived on another year.
