It is the championship game and your team is down by two points. The play is drawn up and the ball is in your hands. You crossover one defender and pull up from behind the three-point arc. The shot is up, it bounces around the rim, and then it drops in. You just hit the game winning shot in the championship and your team rushes the court.

The only difference about this championship is that it was not played on national television in front of millions and you don’t win a huge trophy, but you do get a T-shirt and bragging rights. That’s right – this is the intramural basketball league and your team just proved themselves as the best team on campus.

This may seem like a dream for some, but for others it is a reality – a reality that intramural basketball can provide. Of course, you don’t just show up and get to play in the championship game; you have to work for it. You will face some great competition along the way and you will face some cupcakes, but the competition is what gives intramural basketball its edge over other intramural sports.

Chris Batsche, an intramural basketball participant, said, “The competition is amazing and it drives you to be a better ballplayer.”

In order to get to the championship game, teams first face a round robin type league play and then a tournament. The number of teams will determine how many times you play each team. This year the Greek A League, for example, was composed of four teams: Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Tau Omega, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Pi Kappa Alpha. Each team played the other twice, for a total of six games.

After league play, the teams headed to a tournament to find out who was going to the championship game. This year’s tournament combined the Greek A teams with the Greek B teams. As in a regular tournament, teams are seeded according to records and from there the tournament begins. The teams were seed one through seven and the tournament began play on the night of March 20. After five games the championship game was set between Pi Kappa Alpha A and Tau Kappa Epsilon. The tournament concluded on March 21 with Pi Kappa Alpha A coming out on top.

The Greek League is just an example of one of the leagues available. There are also leagues for alumni and for students. The leagues are broken down into two levels of competition: A-level, which is competitive, and B-level, which is the recreation league.

No matter the league you play in, teams play with all they have. What it comes down to in intramural basketball is guts and glory. The harder you play, the better your team can be and the more fun you will have.

For those students looking to get involved on campus, intramural basketball provides the perfect opportunity to do so.

“Students should play intramural basketball because it provides a good time and it allows them to make new friends,” Batsche said.

“Intramural basketball is an incredible time, and I recommend that everyone get out and give it a try.”

For more information on joining future intramural basketball leagues, visit the Campus Recreation Web site at http://www.nku.edu/~camprec/intramural/index.htm.