The intermittent blaring of music drowned out squeaking sneakers and the dribbling echoes of basketballs in Alumni Hall on Sunday evening. Three intramural basketball leagues consecutively competed in their intramural basketball championship games.
Because regular season intramural games are played in the field house of the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex, Ian Diaz, graduate assistant of recreation, thought Alumni Hall increased the competitive and spirited atmosphere.
“We want the championships to be as close to a Division 1 game as possible,” Diaz said.
Players were excited about the overhead scoreboard and were energized by the booming music and buzzers. The majority also commented on the noticeable contrast in court conditions.
“We love this court,” J.R. Gallery ‘15 said, praising Alumni Hall’s hoops.
Senior Nate Tulloch commented on the less adequate RecPlex conditions saying, “The hoops aren’t that good and the floor is old and bad for your knees.”
Of 17 co-ed intramural teams, Ball for More and The Family took to the floor of Alumni Hall’s court first. Ball for More led for the entirety of the first 20-minute period and held the lead for the rest of the game, winning 61-57 and becoming the first team of the evening to victoriously sport the deep purple 2014 intramural championship tank tops.
Next, The Fathers, defending B League champs and undefeated this season, expected a 2014 win, according to captain Michael Blank ’14.
But opposing team captain Jake Ruskan ’15 coached the B League Basics to a 56-50 victory, and awarded Gerry McMullin ’16 as the team’s MVP of the game.
“We’ll be back to defend the championship next year,” Ruskan said, noting that the only improvement they currently need is a new team name.
By halftime of the A League game, the scoreboard read 39-24 with the Purple Swag Dragons leading against Shaq-FU, defending champs.
“We knew they could shoot lights out, but we didn’t see this coming,” Shaq-FU team member Joe Kos ’15 said.
The Purple Swag Dragons’ team captain Gallery had commentators, spectators and players in awe with his three-point shots. Their 60-50 win concluded the intramural championships.
However, the event was meant to do more than wrap up the intramural basketball season.
“If we pack Alumni Hall for intramurals, it will send a message to the administration,” Diaz explained.
For him, hosting the intramural basketball championships in Alumni Hall was reminiscent of when Fairfield’s Division 1 men’s basketball team played within the gymnasium’s worn, white cement walls.
Though during Diaz’s time as an undergraduate, the team only scrimmaged in Alumni Hall during his freshman year. Five years later, he can still recall the energy and student attendance.
“We packed Alumni Hall,” he said.
In an effort to recreate that liveliness, Diaz collaborated with Her Campus Fairfield to advertise the intramural championships and fill the wooden bleachers with an energetic student crowd. Her Campus ran a raffle with gift cards to Starbucks, The Grilled Cheese Eatery and Pronto Chop Shop & Pizzeria. Other prizes included an autographed jersey and Juicy J tickets.
Approximately 130 students, including accepted students visiting campus, filtered in and out of Alumni Hall throughout the event. Diaz thinks the scarce turnout was correlated with the event being held on a Sunday night. According to him, students were likely starting homework while their peers warmed up for their intramural championships.
However, he holds firm that the basketball team should return to Alumni Hall. “I think the turnout would be greater than at Harbor Yard and it would benefit both the school and the players,” Diaz said.
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