Over 1,000 people will be walking through the doors of Carmichael Gym this weekend for what has now become an annual event for N.C. State. This is the fourth year the Campus Recreation Department will host the American Collegiate Intramural Sports Basketball Tournament featuring teams from all over the country.
Seventy-one teams, ranging from as far as Wisconsin to as close as UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina, Appalachian State and Duke will be competing for the national championship title for club and intramural basketball.
There will be a total of six teams from N.C. State participating in the tournament; the men’s and women’s club teams, two men’s intramural teams and two women’s intramural teams.
Assistant Director for Intramural Sports Matt Seibring, who has been working on this tournament since late November, believes this tournament is a great opportunity for Wolfpack players.
“It’s great for our students and I’m glad we were able to get six teams,” Seibring said. “It’s a real fun activity–how often do our students get to participate in some kind of national championship? And this one is in their lap, they don’t have to even travel.”
The Wolfpack men’s club team is back in action as they compete to defend their championship title from last year’s tournament. John Smetana, president of the men’s club team and junior in sports management, feels the team has a good chance of winning it again.
“There are a total of eight returning players from last year’s team,” Smetana said. “And with our new coach Peyton Peterson, I absolutely think we can try and win it again.”
Last year there were a total of 53 teams in the tournament. This year, more women’s club teams showed interest in the tournament than before. Mary Yemma, assistant director for club sports, said she is thrilled to see this growth of interest for the women’s teams.
“It’s really exciting to see such a strong response from women’s club teams this year,” Yemma said. “Last year we only had one division for women’s club and intramural combined, now we were able to make more divisions.”
Included in the 1,000 people in the Carmichael Gym this weekend are the many volunteers and professional staff. Scorekeepers will be used, as well as officials from the University and other colleges.
In order to become an official for the tournament, students had to be evaluated and the students with the highest scores are able to referee the championship game, according to Heather Jarrell, the student director of the ACIS National Basketball Tournament.
“Our students apply to referee a lot, because it’s kind of like a clinic for them,” Jarrell said. “You get to ref the game while they record you, then afterward you go into a room and watch how you did while they tell you what you did wrong and how to fix it.”
Championship games will be played in Reynolds Coliseum beginning at 9:30 a.m. and anyone is welcome to watch the excitement. The majority of the games will be played in the Carmichael Gym where spectators are able to watch the action as well. Tip-off is at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8. The courts will be available for recreational use during the day on Friday, but will be closed off until Sunday afternoon for tournament purposes.
This year, ACIS was only able to offer a partial sponsorship for the tournament, which included insurance costs and marketing the tournament to other teams. Yemma said she is thankful that many of the sponsors are from the Triangle and were willing to help out through donations.
“We were lucky enough to have a lot of sponsors in the area that wanted to help and wanted to get their name on a national tournament,” Yemma said. “With all the professional staff, players, volunteers and families coming in from different states to enjoy the warm weather, there’s a lot of opportunity for them to go eat at different places and stay in hotels.”
“We want to make sure that the officials coming, volunteers, the students that are working and playing–are all having a great experience,” Yemma said.
