By: Riley Harker/
The 2025 intramural season at Howard Payne University began in early September, with sand volleyball games starting Sept. 9.
Intramurals give students a break from stressful academic workloads while offering opportunities for competition and connection.
“It’s a place where we’re trying to promote sportsmanship and healthy competition,” said Jake Lehrer, resident director of Taylor Hall and the Newbury Apartments and intramural coordinator. “We’re trying to get people doing things out of their dorm. We want people to connect, have fun, build relationships, and just have an outlet on campus that enhances the student experience.”
Intramurals are designed to help students step away from school work for a few hours each week while building community.
“I think people can learn that they’re pretty skillful about something,” said Lehrer. “For example, if they are a very competitive person, they can learn how to exercise more sportsmanship, look at the bigger picture of everyone trying to have fun.”
Intramurals can play a large part in most college students’ lives.
Kendall Watkins, junior criminal justice major from Rockwall and student worker for HPU intramurals, said the program has transformed her.
“This type of organization has taught me responsibility, communication, collaboration, and leadership,” said Watkins. “As a student who was already participating in a collegiate sport, intramurals offered me a chance to play in sports that I normally would not get the opportunity to compete in and connect more with the larger student body.”
She added that intramurals provide a healthy way to relieve stress.
“It served as a fun outlet from the rest of my responsibilities and was a good way to blow off steam without the pressure of performance,” Watkins said.
Students can learn more about upcoming sports and register teams through the IMLeagues mobile app, which includes stats, schedules, standings and registration dates.
For more information about HPU Intramurals, contact Lehrer, at intramurals@hputx.edu.
Senior Staff Writer, Riley Harker