Br Mackenzie Conklin | Howard Payne University intramural sports have been a staple for student involvement and campus interactions for years.
Since taking over in 2015, Wes Curton, intramural coordinator, has been working to build and expand the IM league. IM sports have developed tremendously with the growing participation of students and even staff members.
According to data, there is approximately forty percent student involvement. Curton stated with so many sports options, it’s hard for students to not want to join in.
“My goal is to create a place for students to connect and interact with each other,” he said. “[IM sport] helps students get together in a fun and interactive way.”
The influx of student participation has pushed for non-conventional sports to be added. E-Games and passive sports have become a part of IM sports apart from the more traditional sports. This semester table chess and billiards, or pool, have made their debut as the newest sports to become part of the IM leagues.
“We want to have a space for everyone,” Curton stated. “With the more passive sports we can incorporate students who don’t necessarily want to be a part of the aggressive sports but still want to be competitive.”
Though the program has expanded structurally in the last two years, he is focused on improving the student involvement for now.
“Hopefully in the future we can have our own IM facility, so we aren’t intruding on the school’s athletic facilities like we have in the past,” Curton said. “Hopefully we can improve spectator involvement as well since some students just like to watch too.”
Kenny Jackson, a second semester referee, has also been involved with playing IM sports since his arrival on campus as a freshman. With his experience as a ref and a player, the positives of both sides of the program are easy to see.
“There’s not much more to improve [at the moment] but hopefully in the future we can add more sports and get even more students involved.” Jackson said.
Though the sports can get competitive and tense, being a part of the IM leagues integrates all types of people through fellowship and activity. IM sports are a great way to get connected and create relationships with others that may not have any other connection on campus.
This semester will bring around more sports to get involved in including, softball, soccer, and a rock-climbing competition.
For more information on how to get involved visit the HPU student life page, or email intramurals@hputx.edu.