Written by: Alissa Flores
Southern Adventist University’s increase in freshman enrollment continues to impact the number of students participating in intramurals. According to the School of Health and Kinesiology, this has resulted in a financial impact on the program as well as a disruption of open gym time and the number of games being reduced.
Freshman enrollment reached an all-time high of 758 students last semester, according to a previous Accent article, and administrators expect the growth to continue in future years.
“There were 54 teams last year in basketball and 55 teams this year,” said Troy Walker, head of university intramurals. “Last year, there were 531 participants, and this year there are 550.”
Growth is expected for volleyball season, as well, according to Walker. And, while he welcomes the spike in student participation, he mentioned that it could be demanding for the program.
“If there’s a challenge, it’s in needing more refs and scorekeepers [and] training more refs,” he said.
Although this semester’s numbers aren’t extraordinarily high, Walker said the overall growth that has occurred each semester over the past couple of years has been considerable for the program.
Asked how the larger numbers participating in intramurals are affecting the program, Walker said, “It’s mostly advantageous, because it’s good for the program.
“It’s good not only for the players that have more variety in who they play with and against, but also for their friends and fans who come and watch,” he added. “It’s more fun because there are just more teams to watch.”
“If there’s a challenge, it’s in needing more refs and scorekeepers [and] training more refs.”
Judy Sloan, dean of the School of Health and Kinesiology, expressed similar sentiments and concerns.
“They are playing three games every hour,” she said. “That’s six officials every hour that have to get paid for four hours. It’s a greater cost.”
“Am I upset about that? No,” she said. But, according to Sloan, the increase in payments will exceed the department’s budget this year due to the additional students.
“Let’s say hypothetically you had $20,000 to pay officials,” she said. “Well, now you’re going to be [paying] over $20,000, because you just had to pay six officials. Six times four is 24. You just had to pay 24 hours’ worth of officiating that was not part of your budget a year ago.”
“That’s the whole point of this. Getting them out there and playing. Even if it costs us more money, it’s worth it physically, for the students’ mental health and social health.”
Although cost is a factor, it’s not an issue that cannot be resolved, Sloan said. It is something Southern has to take into consideration, she explained, but it shouldn’t affect the overall program.
“The other challenge would be [that] we’ve always tried to play eight-game seasons, plus a week of playoffs,” Walker said.
Currently, however, regular seasons include seven games. Since more teams are participating in the program, which still utilizes the same space as before, the only way Walker can fit all the teams in the schedule to compete is by decreasing the number of games by one.
“Which isn’t bad,” Walker said. “It’s not horrible. It’s still a good number of games.”
Walker, meanwhile, hopes he won’t have to drop to six games in future seasons due to rising student participation.
“Because the students like playing, having more games means more play time,” he said. “My philosophy has always been participation. That’s the whole point of this. Getting them out there and playing. Even if it costs us more money, it’s worth it physically, for the students’ mental health and social health. Across the board, it’s worthwhile.”
As a result of the larger number of teams in basketball this semester, open gym time is now more limited. This is because students who play on Sunday open gym nights usually get their play time between 5 and 9 p.m., Walker explained. Now, because of how he scheduled the games, they only get an hour between 8 and 9 p.m.
“It’s more fun because there are just more teams to watch.”
Walker said if the number of participants continues to rise, more Sunday time slots would be needed. This would mean virtually no time for open gym.
Sloan said one possible solution she has discussed with Student Development is starting intramurals at 5 p.m. instead of 6. This could help add more games in the future.
“We are already using all [of the] four-hour time slots and every day possible right now,” Sloan said. “The only other possible option would be to decrease the number of games again or start earlier.”
Another idea for the future that has been contemplated by both Walker and Sloan is the use of Collegedale Academy Elementary School’s gym, since the building will probably be reallocated for the university’s purpose once the elementary school moves to its new location.
“We have this gymnasium that’s already right there,” Sloan said. “Should we not use that facility for open gym type of stuff?”
Although concerns regarding games having to be decreased and more time allotted solely for intramurals have been voiced, both Sloan and Walker assured the Accent that intramurals will continue to thrive on campus, despite the challenges.
