TU Campus Recreation

A Guide to Club Sports and Intramurals at Tulane

In high school, I played all sorts of sports and definitely wanted to continue competing in college. If varsity athletics isn’t the choice for you, there are still many different outlets to play the sports that you love! With over 30 club sports organizations, ranging from recreational to competitive, there is ample opportunity to continue a sport that you have played your whole life or try something entirely new.  Plus, if there is a sport that we don’t currently offer, all you need is 10 interested students and you can start your own Tulane sponsored team.

Some club teams practice once a week, while others practice up to four times per week. Some teams travel multiple times per semester, while others play locally. Commitment levels vary, but it’s not hard to find a club that fits into your schedule. You can join multiple or try a few out before you decide.

The men's Ultimate team lines up for the start of a match.

During my first month at Tulane, I joined the Ultimate Frisbee Team. I honestly didn’t know Ultimate was a “real” sport and could barely even throw a frisbee, but I tried it out anyway.  When they said no experience required, they weren’t kidding. I stuck with it, caught on, and now as a senior, I am the team captain. We travel all over the southeast to places like Tallahassee, Atlanta, and Nashville to compete with other colleges and universities; it has provided an incredible opportunity to visit so many new places that I wouldn’t have visited otherwise. It’s great being part of such a close knit team and has truly shaped my college experience.

If you can’t commit to a club team, there is also the option of playing intramural (IM) sports. You can get together with some friends from your floor or even sign up for a team as an individual.

All of the teams in the IM league are made up of Tulane students, faculty, or staff. Teams usually play once a week on our campus field. The schedules for the regular season & championships are all made and managed at the Reily Recreation Center. Tulane has flag football, sand volleyball, soccer, and dodgeball just to name a few. 

Whether your goal is to win the coveted Intramural Championship t-shirts or just to have fun, intramurals are a great way to meet more people and try something new with no added pressure.

Many of the Intramural teams play in the evenings outside on Brown Field, Tulane's very own turf field.

The Reily Recreation Center in all of its glory.

About the Author:

Marypat Henry

Class of 2016 

Freeman School of Business  

Involvement: President of the Association of Club Sports

Uptown New Orleans Was Far Enough

Guest blogger: Adam Griego

Since I was born and raised in a suburb of New Orleans to a family with no ties to Tulane, Tulane was never really on my radar for where I wanted to go to college. I was raised like all of my friends where you rather donned yourself in purple and gold or believed that this was your time to get out of the Southeast or at least Louisiana.  When it came time to pick which colleges that I wanted to apply to and ultimately attend, I had four categories that I assessed when breaking down each individual school.        

I wanted to:
 . Get as far away from home as possible
 . Have a big sports school atmosphere
 . Be one of a thousand students in big intro level classes
 . Attend an academically challenging institution

 Well, one out of four ain’t bad, but ignoring numbers one through three led me to learn more than I ever thought I could about my city and other areas of the world.

As a New Orleanian, I learned more about my hometown in my freshman year than I ever had in my first 18 years. I was able to do this because I got the opportunity to experience my home for the first time, again, with people who were in complete amazement about every single aspect of the city that I already loved. Also, I got to learn more about how what I saw as “normal” growing up by our city’s standards is truly unique to this one area of the world. I could have gone to college in Georgia, South Carolina, or New York, but I never would have gotten the diverse cultural experience like I did in my own hometown. My roommate freshmen and sophomore year was from Kansas, and our neighbors during our two years were from California, New York, Boston, Chicago, Arkansas, and many more, and during my two years as an Orientation Team Leader, I met people from almost every state in a matter of 60 days. By meeting all of these people, I have made connections all around the US and even in other countries. These connections have led me on trips to Boston, Washington D.C., Knoxville, Chicago, and a few others. Though my thought was to get as far away from home for college so that I could learn about another area, I learned that Uptown New Orleans was far enough to open my eyes up to a whole new world and to the lives of others from all around the world.  Another big perk of staying close to home for college is that my parents can still act like I go to school hours away, but when I really need some family time, they are right around the corner to see me for special occasions and feed me a dinner or two from time to time.  Last but not least, I learned the very important lesson that seersucker fabric is only appropriate to wear for Spring events or Homecoming.

In regards to a big sports school atmosphere, I soon learned that a sports program will not make or break my college experience. Sports are a huge part of my life, and if sports are as important to you as they are to me, you can attend every game here for free and enjoy the brand new Yulman Stadium. Also, you have a city that has two big league sports teams, Saints and Pelicans, a minor league baseball team, Zephyrs, and an Arena Football team, Voodoo. Since 2011, we have had the Super Bowl, Men’s Final Four, Arena Bowl, and Women’s Final Four, and the NBA All-star Game is coming next year. The opportunities for getting involved in the sports industry are endless, and I have taken advantage of it by volunteering for multiple events and having an internship with the Triple AAA New Orleans Zephyrs for this entire summer.

As far as being one of a thousand students, that would have been the worst situation for me. I have gotten to know so many incredible professors that have been able to talk to me one on one on both and academic and social level. The professors that I have met during my time here have not tried to fail me to prove that they know more than I do. They will do anything they can to make sure that I understand the material so that I walk away with new information to use in the future.

Lastly, the academic challenges are exactly what I was looking for in my college experience. I am challenged every week with foreign material but have the essential tools and information to complete my work. Our finance program ranks 3rd in the nation and top 30 internationally. The people that I am meeting and classes that I am taking are setting me up to succeed in my life after Tulane.

To this day, going against my original train of thought and attending Tulane was one of the luckiest decisions that I have made because of the time I have spent getting to explore my hometown and the people that I have met during this incredible experience.

Best Athletics Ever!!

Best Year____ Ever!!

Andrew Lemoine, a rising sophomore, wrote an awesome blog series highlighting why he loves Tulane. Stay tuned to hear more from Andrew!

            So freshman year is in the books, and boy was it one I will never forget. As a local kid from Louisiana I didn’t know what to expect by staying in state for college, but it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. New Orleans is one of the most unique places in the world. I think that this statement pretty much sums up my experience at Tulane this past year. Unique!

Best Athletics Ever!!

Ok, so...Maybe not. Tulane might not have the best athletics programs, but that doesn’t mean New Orleans Sports aren’t fun! Tulane plays our football games downtown in the Mercedes Benz Superdome, which is a blast! I mean, come on. Its the Dome!!!! Basketball and Baseball both play on campus, in Devlin Fieldhouse and Turchin Stadium respectively. Although we aren’t the most winningest program in the country, Tulane home games are so much fun to go too. Everyone loves to cheer on the Green Wave!!

Home Openers for Basketball, Baseball, and Football! Bottom: the opposing team has just scored

                       

            One of my favorite Tulane games to date, has to be a basketball game over Christmas Break. Tulane was visiting the University of Alabama in basketball, and I was visiting Tuscaloosa. Well due to my friend’s connections at Alabama, I got to go watch Tulane play the Crimson Tide!! Now of course we have a decent basketball program, but I was not expecting to beat an SEC powerhouse!! The game started off scraggly with Bama taking the early lead, and holding the lead for most of the game. This brought out many jars and sneers from the Bama fans sitting nearby. But, when the buzzer sounded, Tulane won with a come from behind win to beat Bama 53-50!! What an experience. From being nagged by Bama fans the entire game for wearing my Tulane shirt, to walking out of that game with the W, I truly had so much fun!! This game will forever stay in my mind as one of my favorite games ever.

    

My photobomb of the ESPN Announcers during the game!!; Victory is Sweet!!; Our seats at the game.

                       

            As far as my personal involvement in Tulane Athletics, I am a rider on Tulane’s Cycling Team. I was a runner and triathlete throughout high school, so it was kinda cool to put all of my focus on one discipline for a while. Joining the cycling team was one of my best decisions here at Tulane. The people on the team are so amazing, and I get to travel across the country competing against other colleges in one of my favorite sports! Our road racing season is in the spring, and we race against many colleges from throughout Texas, Oklahoma (where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain), Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana! Earlier this month, we proudly won our 3rd consecutive SCCCC Division II Conference Championship! I can’t even begin to say how much of an amazing experience it was to ride for Tulane this year. I got to meet so many new friends I wouldn’t have otherwise, and I got to travel around the South. Its definitely an experience I would never give back, and it’s one I can’t wait for next year!

            Aside from Tulane sports, New Orleans also has the New Orleans Saints, and the New Orleans Hornets! (Now Pelicans). I was lucky enough to go to games for both teams this year! In November, I went with 2 friends to watch the Saints Play the Atlanta Falcons. We get to Superdome, climb a ton of ramps, only to realize, we still hadn’t reached our gate. We kept climbing, to finally find our seats, on the very. top. row. of the Superdome. How much did we care? None! We had a blast. The Saints ended up beating the Falcons, ending their chance for an undefeated season! As for the Hornets game, one day my neighbor on my floor walks in with an email for the first 50 or so students to sign up get free tickets to a Hornets game! Well we all jumped on that, and got to see the Hornets play the Milwaukee Bucks. Of course, the first thing we thought was, hmm, I wonder how good/bad our tickets would be. We get to the New Orleans Arena, to discover that all of were getting to sit in Press Box seats, get free food, take pictures with the Honey Bees, AND, to put a cherry on top of the evening, get to be the tunnel for the players as they leave the locker room!! I felt like a kid in a candy store, and all of this came from just checking our Tulane email.