Winston-Salem State provides students with the chance to play in Intramural Sports and participate in recreational activities.
“The two most popular sports are basketball and flag football,” said Dash McNeal, director of Campus Recreation. “Both of the sports rosters fill up quickly. Most students choose these sports because they participated in them during their high school tenure.”
The basketball league consists of 20 to 25 teams. The football league has 16 teams. Both sports play their games Monday through Thursday.
Volleyball is the only one of the activities that is co-Recreational [Men and women play on the same teams].
The tennis singles tournament, hoops fun fest, the flag football league, and the five on five basketball league all have men and women’s divisions.
The dodgeball and softball tournaments, along with the Three-on-Three Pit Challenge Tournament, are open. They could be either co-recreational, or consist of separate men’s and women’s divisions.
“One main problem the intramural program faces is the lack of support from females,” McNeal said.
“Males dominate all 10 sports. There are only a few girl teams, even though the school is mostly females. This affects the scheduling because the same teams play each other all the time.”
Participants can sign up for each individual event and must attend mandatory meetings with their team’s roster. The leagues also have officials that go through a training program. The intramural sports program does not have any sponsors.
WSSU, along with 22 other HBCUs, is a part of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Activities.
There is no cost to apply for or play intramural. The staff’s only requirement is for students to be a good sport and have fun.
“I like the competition in basketball,” said Ramon Sims, a junior business management major from Charlotte. “It makes me play harder when I see people strive to win.”
Sims also had some suggestions about how the program can be improved.
“The program has to get better at selecting referees, score keepers, and cleaning the jerseys. “