With the NBA All-star Game to be played later this week, you will be able to see a showcase of talent that is unmatched anywhere else. But this talent will not be coming from overpaid, outrageously tall individuals on NBC. In fact, this display can be seen right in the Burt Kahn Gym, Athletic Center. The Quinnipiac Intramural Basketball League tips off this week with breakaway speed.
530 participants for 53 teams in five divisions will compete for the chance to become champions of the 2001 Five on Five Basketball Season.
“This is a very popular, very competitive event,” said Assistant Athletic Director for Intramurals Bill Merrill.
There are Divisions 1 and 2 in both the Men and Women’s leagues, and a Division 1 in the Co-ed league.
“The competition is fairly even, but there are always some stronger teams,” Merrill said. “Division 1 is always very competitive.”
Winning squads from last year appear in the field, with Women’s Division 1 team “Chicks w/ Balls” trying to repeat. The Women’s Division 2 winners, “Broads with Balls,” will be stepping up to Division 1 to compete for the title.
Competition on the men’s side may be wide-open, as the “Celtics,” the Men’s Division 1 winners from last year, will not be repeating, because their team captain is in London.
Teams represent themselves with names ranging from the “Sensational Iglets” and “TKE” to “Larson Lunatics” and “Cash Money.”
This year’s season begins Sun., Feb. 4 and will run through Mon., Feb. 26. When the regular season winds down, the playoffs will begin Feb. 27.
“With Quinnipiac going to Division 1 in athletics, it means that we need to recruit better athletes, so some players who may have been on the basketball teams may have been cut,” said Merrill. “That puts much better competition in the intramurals.”
Whether there are repeat winners or underdog squads breaking through, the 2001 intramural basketball season gets underway soon. These players are here for the love of the game, and not the fat paycheck.