Coastal Carolina’s intramural basketball program has seen steady growth in recent years, offering students recreational competition with an emphasis on sportsmanship and fun.
With the regular season underway, all teams are preparing for a playoff bracket competition beginning on March 9.
A typical season lasts around three to five weeks, depending on the number of teams entered in the contest. Each team plays four regular season games before transitioning into playoffs, which are in a singleelimination bracket style.
According to players, there are five different divisions of Coastal’s intramural basketball: CoRec, Fraternity, Pro, Rookie and Sorority/ Women’s. Students sign up for the division they believe best fits their skill set. The pro and rookie divisions are typically limited to male only participants, while CoRec will allow for mixed-gender teams.
For Fraternity and Sorority Women’s teams there’s National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) and National Pan-Hellenic Conference (NPHC).
Teams must have at least five players, though their roster sizes may vary. Games are typically played in the Williams-Brice Physical Education Center on campus, and the teams within the same division normally play the same day and time for all regular season games.
Although all matches are competitive, each team qualifies for playoffs every year, placing the challenge near the end of the season and fostering athletic fun.
“It’s a stress-free way to partake in organized sports just hanging out with all the buddies,” Hayden Downes, a player in the rookie division said.
The playoff seeds are based on win and loss records, point differential and sportsmanship. According to the Coastal intramural website, sportsmanship is the determining factor in playoff contention to foster a fun and healthy playing environment.
“The sportsmanship rating only comes into play if there’s an extreme level of bad sportsmanship, like if there’s a fight during a game or disqualifications, ejections. The playoffs are based on records; sportsmanship only comes into account if we’ve had issues before with the players,” Jordan Bryant, an intramural sports graduate assistant, said.
For single-elimination playoffs, the teams only play other teams in their division. If they lose one game during single elimination, their season ends.
Coastal also utilizes student referees for all intramural games. The students are trained to monitor competitions between each team and ensure there is sportsman-like conduct.
“It creates more of a fun environment because they know it can be strict when it needs to, and they know not to cross that line, and it creates a better environment to play basketball,” Assistant Director of University Recreation Caleb Jenerette said.
Registration for the league opens each November and closes in late January. The season typically runs from late January to early March, with dates varying based on weather and university events possibly interfering.
