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Campus Recreation > Intramural Sports > Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  What are intramural sports?

A: Intramural sports are organized leagues, tournaments, and sports activities that are divided into separate skill levels for all students, faculty, and staff to enjoy. 

Q:  Why get involved?

A: Intramural sports offer activities that promote fun and fair play. Among other benefits, they are a great way to meet new people, relieve stress, build self-esteem, and provide leadership opportunities for those interested.

Q: What intramural sports are offered each semester?  

A: Please refer to the intramurals homepage for a complete listing of intramural sports for each semester.

Q: How many teams can I play on?

A: Each participant may play on one same gender team and one co-rec team per sport per season.

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Q: How do I sign up a team?

A: Follow these steps and you'll be playing in no time!

  1. First download and print out an entry form or pick one up from the Campus Recreation office in 215 Boyden
  2. Completely fill out the form with the team minimum required (different for every sport activity, check the individual sport page for more information)
    • Team name (please choose an appropriate name)
    • Player information
      • name alphabetical by last name (same name as indicated on UCard)
      • spire #
      • gender
      • class year
      • entry fees are necessary for grad/fac/staff or continuing ed students participating on your team. If the grad/fac/staff or CE student has paid for full recreation membership for the current semester, no additional fee is required
    • Choose a division. You may enter one co-rec team and one gender specific team if both are offered. These must be two separate forms.
    • Choose a seeding. Either Top Gun or Just Fun. This is only necessary for men's flag football, men's softball, men's basketball and co-rec volleyball.
    • For league sports, ask your players when they can play and then choose preferred three days and times.
    • Fill in contact information. Must have email and phone listed. It is suggested that two captains are listed. It is easier for us to contact the team and for the team to make additions or deletions to their roster.
  3. Write down the date, time and place of the mandatory captains meeting.
  4. Turn in the completed roster.
  5. Attend the mandatory captains meeting.
  6. Check the make sure every player on your roster has been approved by checking your roster in the campus recreation office prior to your first game.
  7. Show up to play with your team a few minutes prior to game time to properly warm up and sign in each player with his/her valid Ucard.

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Q: What is the difference between the Top Gun and Just Fun leagues?  

A: Some pre-selected activities use a seeding system. These sports are separated into two levels of play: Top Gun and Just Fun. Top Gun is the most competitve level of play. Highly skilled, experienced teams should select this level. Just Fun is more recreational and less competitive. Teams with novice players are strongly encouraged to select this level of play. Playoff criteria and the tournament format will be established at the captains meeting.  

Q: How many people per team?  

A: Check the individual sport pages. Most sports activities allow teams to have as many players on their rosters as they want, given they are eligible. There is a suggested maximum. You can have more than the suggested maximum, but if your team wins the championship, that is how many shirts will be given out (a few sports will indicate that there is a firm max, meaning there can only be a specified amount of individuals on a team).

Q: How/when/where can I add/delete players?  

A: Players can be added/deleted through regular season league play. Once league play has concluded, rosters will be locked for playoffs. A captain listed on the roster form is the only person who is able to add or delete someone. To add a player, a captain must bring the individual's information (name, spire #, gender and graduation year) to the Campus Recreation office in 215 Boyden prior to that individual participating and initial and date the information when finished. This cannot be done at the field/court.

Q: What if I don’t have a team?  

A: All individuals who wish to play a sport, but do not have a team, may attend a singles meeting. For more information about singles, please go to the singles page.

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Q: Where do I pick up schedules for the season?  

A: Schedules are usually picked up at the captains meeting conducted before the start of each season. The captain or a team representative will be given his/her team's schedule at the conclusion of the meeting. Schedules are also available in the Campus Recreation office and on the individual sport page.

Q: What happens if I don't go to the captains meeting?

A: All teams are required to have a representative in attendance at the captains meeting.  If the captain is unable to attend, there must be another player from that team in attendance to receive the necessary information and pick up the team's schedule for the season. This representative is then responsible for notifying the team of any changes in rules, policies or procedures for the specific sport. If a representative is not present, the team will either be deemed ineligible for playoffs, or in the case of some sports, be dropped from the league completely. 

Q: What are sportsmanship points?  How are they related to intramural sports?  

A: Sportsmanship points are the 0-4 scale (with 4 as the highest and 0 the lowest) awarded to each team based on their conduct during any intramural contest. Teams are required to maintain an average of 2.75 sportsmanship points for the season to be eligible for playoffs.

Q: What happens if someone on my team is ejected?  

A: An email will be sent to the captain and/or the cited individuals the next school day (weekend tournament ejections will be handled by the tournament director). The email will tell the players to meet with the Campus Recreation staff on Friday at 1:30pm or by appointment (the player in question must set up the appointment). The team will be ineligible to participate until the player(s) meets with the Campus Recreation staff. The player(s) will also not be permitted to participate in any intramural activity until he or she has met with the Campus Recreation staff. Further sanctions may apply. See the captain's guide for more details.

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Q: How do we become eligible for playoffs?  

A: To compete in the playoffs, a team must have attended the mandatory captains meeting, have the required sportsmanship points, be .500 or better (some women and co-rec tournaments accept more teams depending on the number of entries), have no more than one forfeit, and pay the forfeit fee.

Q: I am interested in becoming an official.  What should I do? 

A: Any individual interested in becoming an UMass intramural official should inquire in the Campus Recreation office in Boyden 215.

Q: Do I need experience in the related sport(s) to be an official?

A: No experience is necessary, but it is preferred. We require all of our officials to go through a comprehensive training program prior to officiating their first game.

Q: What are the overall policies governing the Intramural program?

A: Our policies and procedures are outlined in the captain's guide

Q: What if my question wasn't covered above?

A: Contact Campus Recreation at 413-545-0022 or email us at jasonink@admin.umass.edu

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