For the second consecutive year, NC State’s Carmichael Gymnasium will play host to the American Collegiate Intramural Sports basketball national championship. 64 intramural teams from all over the country will be in the gym, competing for the chance to be crowned national champion.
The winner of each of the four regional tournaments held at Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee State, the University of Dayton and the University of Nebraska received an automatic bid to nationals, and the remainder of the tournament is open to any team around the country willing and able to travel to Raleigh and compete. Tournament director Jason Spivey said this style enables more students to play.
“You are not restricted to having to win a tournament to enter which is kind of nice because it gives more people an opportunity to compete,” Spivey said. “This year we have 64 teams total and they are from all over the country. All around, it’s really a true national experience.”
N.C. State has several teams competing in the tournament, including Money Biscuits, the Men’s Open champion, St8 buckets and several members of the newly formed club basketball team. State also has a few women’s teams, including The Champs and Mersh Mersh. Sophomore Jason Adouli of the men’s club basketball team commended the level of competition and expressed his excitement for the upcoming tournament.
“We’ll be playing a lot of games against a lot of very talented teams from all over the country this weekend,” Adouli said. “I am really looking forward to competing and seeing the skill-level of the intramural teams from other schools.”
The tournament, however, is more than just fun and games. The preparation that went into hosting a tournament at the national level is grueling to say the least. Along with hand-picking 36 officials, soliciting local businesses for sponsorships, helping teams find airfare and hotel accommodations, students and campus recreation professionals must make sure the tournament runs as smoothly as possible.
“We all work together, dividing the different tasks up that we have to accomplish so that not one person is getting burdened,” Spivey said. “The biggest change from last year to this year is we really wanted to go with a more student-led tournament. We really relied on our students. The professionals acted as advisors and the students did an amazing job learning different things about marketing, sponsorships, and things like that hands on and they did a lot of the legwork.”
With the final touches being taken care of and teams from all over the nation beginning to arrive, the excitement among players, staff and officials is beginning to elevate. Pool play games begin today at 5:00 PM and every team will play tonight.
“It should be a fun weekend,” Adouli said. “It’s going to be a good chance for a lot of people who played competitively in high school and AAU to compete at a high level again.”
