At CSU, sports are usually a serious matter. Our varsity teams have heroically defeated rivals, brought home championship trophies and inspired younger generations to grow up wanting to be Rams.

But what about the rest of us? The mere mortals who enjoy sports, but maybe aren’t exactly NCAA material?

For us, the answer comes in intramural sports.

“We want to provide sporting and athletic opportunities for the general population of the University,” said Arianne Judy, coordinator for intramural sports. “They’re opportunities outside of playing the varsity athletics, but in an organized manner.”

Intramurals have been around for decades as a way to provide a healthy, physical outlet for students, as well as a nice break from the mental demands of classes, according to Judy. Hundreds of universities all over the country participate in dozens of different sports, including basketball, bowling and even competitive bench press.

Senior wildlife biology major Ashley Hansen has participated in intramural volleyball all four of her years at CSU.

“It’s just really fun and a good way to stay involved on campus and meet people with similar interests as you,” Hansen said.

As someone who has years of experience playing volleyball, intramurals gave Hansen the perfect opportunity to continue playing a game she loves, but in a more fun and easy-going environment.

“I’ve been playing for a long time and I wasn’t ready to give it up,” Hansen said. “I wanted to play, but not be as competitive as it would be at club level.”

In addition to the more traditional sports available, there are also quite a few more creative intramurals open to students and faculty.

One such sport is tube water polo. It’s just like regular water polo, but players must sit on intertubes, propelling themselves by flailing all of their limbs.

“It’s ridiculously fun,”  junior English major and tube water polo champion Tim Mahoney said. “You’re moving all of your limbs at once and it’s just funny.You just come away from it thinking it was so fun and so weird.”

Other more unique intramurals include Xbox tournaments and the NCAA Tourney Pick’em. Both offer students the chance to compete and excel at something they probably already do at home.

The NCAA Tourney Pick’em is online, but the the Xbox tournament is a one day event that takes place on a stage in front of a big screen in the rec center. Sometimes even random onlookers can be pulled into the action.

“If we have spaces available, we try to let the people who walk by jump into the tournament,” Judy said.

The addition of new kinds of activities such as Xbox and the NCAA Tourney Pick’em come from from intramural sports’ effort to bring in all different kinds of students who enjoy all different kinds of things.

“These came out of the idea of having programming that meets the diversity of the student population,” Judy said. “We’re trying to provide these things so that people can be involved and engaged and take advantage of the intramural opportunity right here on campus.”

In order to help pay for the time and space required for these events, IM’s usually cost money. The price depends on the sport, with some, like Xbox, being free and others costing up to $45 per team. More information can be found online at the intramural sports website or in their offices located in the rec center.

The IM office is always happy to hear ideas for new activities, according to Judy.

Collegian Entertainment Writer McKenna Ferguson can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.