By MICHAEL CAVANAUGH
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Intramural sports are an essential part of the college experience for many students. Here at Fordham, where qualifying for club and varsity athletic teams alike has become increasingly difficult, the intramural program allows students to engage semi-competitively in the sports that they enjoy.

For George Hershey, GSB ’17, the favorable disparity in time commitment between intramural teams and their club and varsity counterparts was an enticing factor.

“[Intramurals give] me a chance to play sport competitively without too much of a time commitment,” said Hershey.

For Hershey, however, the occasionally inconvenient time slots for games are a significant downside to the program.

Matthew Cucino, FCRH ’14, echoes Hershey’s complaint in regards to the intramural schedule. “While I enjoy that [intramurals are] an easy, and usually convenient, way to have fun and see friends, I do not like the 11 p.m. games,” Cucino said. “They are too late and make it harder to stay awake and pay attention when you have an 8:30 a.m. class the next day.”

This is not an uncommon complaint among students who frequently register for the fall, winter or spring intramural seasons. Team captains who log onto the Fordham Intramurals page on IMLeagues (the easy-to-navigate intramural sports website) only to discover that their team was condemned to the “graveyard shift” game that evening are inevitably met with collective groans from their teammates. This is especially pertinent in the later weeks of the fall season, where frigid temperatures make 11 p.m. soccer, flag football and softball games an uncomfortable chore, rather than an athletic outing filled with camaraderie.

It should be noted that holding the intramural games late in the evening on both school nights and weekends is the most logical choice in order to make games accessible to a greater number of students. Many students, especially upperclassmen, are enrolled in late afternoon and evening classes, making it difficult to schedule earlier games for teams.

Joe Dieguez, GSB ’14, speaks to how much more inconvenient it is for commuters especially to deal with the late games on weeknights.

“I would like for it to be more commuter-friendly during the weekdays,” said Dieguez. “Sometimes, having a game at 11 p.m. then going home isn’t great, since I wouldn’t get home until about 12:30 a.m., or even 1 a.m.”

As Dieguez voices, while the situation it is still not optimal for students who live on or offcampus, commuters have it even worse, driving or taking the train home at such late hours. However, the unappealing hours do not deter Dieguez from registering himself and his friends, who have won a number of intramural championships for sports during each season.

“I like how competitive it can get because I like a good competition,” said Dieguez. “When you think of intramurals, people may seem them as recreational. But here [at Fordham], people are very competitive.”

This competitive atmosphere is part of the allure of intramurals at Rose Hill, which remain, despite consistent complaints about the scheduling of games, extremely popular with students.

In fact, it is the extent of the program’s popularity that is often the cause of the scheduling issues. For Steven Pisciotta, GSB ’14, additional conflicts arise when his friends and he decide to play in multiple sports at the same time.

“I would like the scheduling to be improved,” said Pisciotta. “There are often many conflicts that arise because people have multiple teams playing at the same time.”

Pisciotta also mentioned his desire for intramural baseball, a once-popular part of the intramural program, to be reinstated.

While many students actively participate in, and feel positively about, intramurals, it is clear that improvements can be made. More convenient timing for residents and commuters alike could solidify the overall popularity of an already well-reviewed program.