A well-lit Miller Intramural Field hosted more than 100 active students Monday night. Some gathered for ultimate frisbee practice, while most participated in or cheered along the sidelines for the beginning of the fall intramural flag football season.

According to Jason Spivey, the assistant director of Campus Recreation, more than 215 teams have signed up to participate this year, up by about 40 from the 175 teams that participated last year. Even though the popularity of the league has already increased, Spivey said Campus Recreation is making great efforts to promote the league and make it as enjoyable as possible for students.

Spivey said flag football intramurals is “a great way to create memorable moments and meet new people.” He went on to mention that the Campus Recreation department is making extra efforts to paint the fields and play music over loudspeakers to create a memorable atmosphere for students.

“I love to see the play-by-play action,” Anne Wheatly, a senior in public relations said. “It’s just so exciting.”

Wheatly and several of her friends gathered to cheer on her roommate, Tommy Ozbolt, a senior in political science and philosophy of law, as he helped lead open league team SOBEastly to a 19-0 victory Monday. SOBE energy drinks sponsors the team and has given the squad free T-shirts and drinks for the season.

Some students take the competition seriously and use intramural football to excel in a sport they may have enjoyed in high school but did not have the opportunity to pursue in college.

“It’s cool because the camaraderie is not something you get after high school sports,” Ozbolt said. “The best thing is competing. There’s nothing better than competing.”

Justin Oakley, a junior in agricultural business management and a receiver for SOBEastly, said he agrees, “it’s great being able to be competitive and not have to play full-time.”

Other students view intramural football as an extracurricular activity that helps reduce school-induced stress.

“It’s a good transition in your day,” Luke Miles, a sophomore in middle grades education, said. “It’s good stress relief.”

The flag football intramural games tend to feature mainly passing plays and quarterback scrambles as well as stiff defense, making it likely for onlooking fans to witness long receptions, quarterback scrambles and multiple interceptions.

“Offensively, we mostly pass,” Oakley, who had two interceptions on defense and one touchdown reception on offense for SOBEastly said. “We usually line up with three receivers and three linemen. Defensively, we usually run a cover two.”

Such up-tempo play makes for two exciting halves of football that has proven to draw fairly large crowds of friends and supporters.

“Being a football fanatic, I love to watch as many games as possible before going home to watch Monday Night Football,” Meredith Witt, a junior in engineering and fan of SOBEastly, said.

The fierce competition and electric feel of intramural flag football creates an atmosphere that pushes students to play relentlessly and settle for nothing less than a win.

“If your not playing to win, I don’t want to play with you,” Ozbolt said. “It’s not fun to let you win.”