Intramural sports allow students to build an active community

Caroline Hunsucker enjoys sports and having fun. She found East Carolina University’s intramural sports program combined those pursuits and helped her make connections with other students.

Hunsucker is among more than 5,000 students who have found intramural sports programs as a way to be active while creating a community. ECU offers 10 total intramural sports, with six in the fall (basketball, table tennis, cornhole, pickleball, seven-on-seven soccer and sand volleyball) and four in the spring (flag football, softball, basketball, volleyball).

According to Jon Wall, senior assistant director of sport programs, the biggest differences between intramural sports and club sports are the time commitment and the level of competition.

“Intramurals are more informal,” Wall said. “They typically play once a week with a season that lasts around one month. Intramural sports are big on having fun, forming a team quickly before playing for a few weeks.

“Club sports, we consider to be like a junior varsity team. They practice, play outside schools and some have tryouts. It’s much more of a time commitment and a more competitive environment.”

A Fun, Athletic Space

The benefits of playing intramural sports go far beyond the physical benefits of exercise.

“From a mental health standpoint, intramural sports can create a sense of belonging because you can meet new, different types of people and participate with them,” Wall said. “It’s a great opportunity to get to know others. We often see that freshmen who play together initially remain on the same team during their time at ECU. Some may play additional sports and find new groups of people. They’re able to develop friendships with a group that hopefully last beyond college.”

The community created by playing intramural sports has proven to be effective. Since the fall 2021 semester, students participating in intramural sports have been retained from year one to year two at a rate between 10% and 13% higher than non-intramural participants.

During the 2025-26 school year, 5,383 students participated in 10 intramural sports. Just over 80% of participants were males with nearly equal representation of participants across academic years.

Wall and his staff do their best to incorporate student ideas and opinions.

“We send a survey to anyone who played intramural sports over the last three to four years. We ask for feedback about the registration process, length of season, any barriers that kept them from participating and if there are any sports they’d like to see offered,” he said.

“Based on the feedback, we look to see if there are any sports that we want to add that make sense and have a big enough interest. For example, we didn’t offer table tennis last year but got a lot of comments about wanting to have a tournament, so we had one earlier in September and will have another in mid-November.”

Wall explained that the sign-up process is as easy as picking up their cell phone. Participation is covered through student fees with no additional costs.

“We have a scheduling and registration system through the IM Leagues app. Students can download the app, click on intramural sports and sign up for a team or create one for the division they want to play,” he said.

The app lets Wall and his staff send notifications and reminders about registration deadlines, schedule changes and sport-specific information.

For students who want to participate but don’t have a team, Wall said they can sign up for the sport and division they wish to compete in and allow team captains to add them if an opening exists on their squads. However, Wall and the campus recreation staff recommend an in-person method.

“Captains often have a full team, so unless they need players they probably won’t pick anyone up. Instead, we encourage anyone who wants to play but doesn’t have a team to go to the basketball courts, make connections face-to-face and let others know they need a team.”

Four Years of Football

Hunsucker, a senior public health major and Honors College student from Ellerbe, first participated in intramural flag football as a freshman.

“I originally signed up to play because my friends were interested in starting a team,” she said. “We all lived in the same residence hall and had been hanging out for the first couple of weeks of school. I also decided to join because I love sports, being active, being a part of a team and anything competitive.”

After playing football as a freshman, Hunsucker returned for another flag football season as a sophomore and participated in volleyball. This year, she played beach volleyball for the first time and will return to the gridiron.

The friendships Hunsucker made in her first flag football season have grown.

“Every year of college, I have played flag football with the same people. We don’t hang out or talk every day, but we all know when the season rolls around, we’re going to play together,” she said. “It’s the same with volleyball. When starting a beach volleyball team this year, I knew who to reach out to and who would want to play.”

While winning is important to Hunsucker, there are other factors that have meaningful impact.

“There have been some intramural games I have played where winning was important because I knew the team I was with could do it, but at the end of the day, I do it because it is so much fun,” she said. “No one is super serious about it. We are just out there to have a good time, see what each other can do, and support one another.”

Back to Basketball

A weeklong single-elimination basketball tournament in late August served as both an introduction to intramural sports and an unexpected opportunity to reunite with longtime friends.

Sophomore accounting major Greg Murray was worn out after his team, Macboys, lost in a hard-fought championship game to Meanstreet. Macboys advanced to the championship round after winning a semifinal contest and had a five-minute break between games.

Caroline Hunsucker, located in the middle of the front row, has played intramural flag football in each of her years at ECU. (Contributed photo)

“It was a quick turnaround and tough on my body. I played every minute in the first game and then to turn around and play another, it’s tough. We fought and battled until the last possession. I’m proud of my team and how we did.”

The welcome back tournament was the first time that Murphy participated in intramurals. The last time he was on a basketball court was last winter when he played on the Roanoke College men’s team. Murphy was a member of a Maroons squad that won 23 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. After the season, he transferred to ECU and reunited with longtime friends and high school teammates.

“I grew up with the guys on my team, and three of them are my best friends from my neighborhood back home. We’ve known each other all our lives. It really helps our chemistry a lot because we’ve played a lot and know each other so well.”

Although there are differences in the style of play between the intercollegiate level and intramurals, Murray keeps a competitive spirit regardless of environment.

“At the NCAA level, there’s a lot that goes into it as far as who fits what system, but here, you just go out and play. You have fun. But for me, I have the same competitive spirit whether I’m playing in the park or playing in a college basketball game. I want to go out and win and play as hard as I can.”

The opportunity to play again with childhood friends is something that Murray cherishes.

“I didn’t think it would happen again, especially after we went off to college and were going to go our separate ways. Ultimately God makes everything work how it’s supposed to and we all ended up on the same team having fun. I’m happy to have the opportunity.”

Murray’s first intramural foray won’t be his last.

“I plan to play in them until I graduate. I love it.”

On the winning side of the court, senior entrepreneurship major Dylan Wiggins won his third intramural basketball championship.

“I don’t take it too seriously, but I do want to win,” he said. “It’s fun to come out here and do something competitive. We all play pickup games together, so having something that is regulated is appreciated.”

Wiggins continues to participate in intramural basketball for a simple reason.

“It’s fun. I’ve always played basketball and we don’t have a club team, so being able to come out here and play is a lot of fun,” he said.

At the end of each season, Wall hopes that participants take more with them than just their win-loss records.

“Our hope is that they look back on the time playing together with fond memories, whether they win a championship or not.”

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