22 Student Life Fall Sports Intramural sports provided special opportunities for students to compete in various sports. These sports gave all students a chance to create or join a team and play against their friends in sports such as football, softball, volleyball, basketball and more. Pickleball and sand volleyball were the newest additions. Freshman students acclimated well to the intramural sports offered in the fall of 2024, and one team in particular took the Harding sports world by storm. The “Double Chunk Chocolate Cookies” (DCCC) gained a following as a freshman male intramural football team that approached the sport in a funny fashion. “Being on the Double Chunk Chocolate Cookies gave me and my friends a fun event to look forward to and to do together,” freshman Tate Jones said. “It allowed us to play a sport as a group and stay active.” Jones appreciated the diversity that intramural sports offered. “I had only played football up to that point, but I planned to play all the other ones,” Jones said. “I was looking forward to softball because it was a sport I had never played.” Sophomore Ashlyn McCulley spoke about her time playing intramural sports as a freshman. McCulley also served as a referee for some of the games. “Intramural sports could bring a lot of benefits to the freshman experience,” McCulley said. “They offered a great way to make new friends and build a sense of community when you were adjusting to a new environment.” McCulley also shared that intramural sports dramatically shaped her freshman experience. “Intramural sports enhanced my time at Harding,” Mculley said. “They helped create lasting memories and provided a fun break from things like studying.” Intramural matches were held primarily on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5 to 10 p.m. Students registered for the events in the IMleagues app. Freshman Hilton Duncan played intramural football and managed an Instagram account promoting his team. “I did run the Instagram; it was great,” Duncan said. “I had loved managing Instagrams and stuff, and it had been fun because we were kind of hyping up the team like it was an NFL team. We had been getting a sense of fandom for the team. It was great and funny doing that. We had gameday posts, memes, highlights and other stuff.” Duncan also agreed that intramural sports were valuable for freshmen as they adjusted to life in college. “I thought intramural sports brought a sense of community to the freshman experience that gave me a chance to get connected to my freshman peers,” Duncan said. “Sometimes you were looking for something to do during the day, and intramural sports gave you that opportunity to have something to do at night.” Written by Max Thweat Frenzy Newcomers to campus acclimate by joining and promoting freshmen intramural teams.
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