There will be no intramural sports taking place on the campus of Alabama State University this semester. Each year nearly 300 students compete in intramural sports, which include basketball, football, fitness programs and many more. However, according to sports intramural director coach Fred Franklin, the program was not awarded a good budget.
Franklin said, “We usually do volleyball, kickball, and basketball, this fall we are only doing open gym.” George Hubert Lockhart Gymnasium hours of availability are Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The hours are built around the schedules of the Lady Hornets volleyball and basketball team that utilize the facility.
He continued.
“I didn’t really get a lot of money in my budget this fall, so I can’t really do any games, to be honest. I’m hoping they get me some more money in the spring so we can have more events and stuff like that.”
Franklin also spoke about some challenges the program is facing.
“We are banned off the soccer field, unfortunately, we can’t go out there. We plan on relying on the practice field out here for those sports.”
While there will not be intramural sports this fall, the spring is when things will kick off.
“We plan on starting basketball in February and ending around the last week of March.” He also mentioned more events he plans on having, “In January we try to have aerobics, which will take place twice a week.”
He continued. “At the end of February, we will begin our indoor volleyball, which is four-on-four. And we plan on wrapping up with a kickball season.” Lazarus Walker, a sophomore, spoke about not having intramural sports this semester, “It’s definitely a loss because I enjoy playing basketball.” He continued, “But I’ll be ready for the spring semester I guess.”
Rishard Densmore, a junior, talked about the importance of intramural sports, “Not having any sports this semester will be and is difficult.” Densmore added, “Many of us students use this as an opportunity to stay in shape. I don’t enjoy working out, so playing sports is my cardio.”
Jada Rhodes, a junior, said, “I’m a volleyball player, however, when our season is over I look forward to seeing the intramural sports.”
She continued. “But I cannot wait until the spring semester. It will definitely be something fun to watch. We have some great talent on this campus and that’s an opportunity for them to display that.”
Lauryn Adair, a sophomore, added, “I enjoyed watching intramural sports during my freshman year, so for it to be gone this semester is kind of sad. That is where I made a lot of my friends that I consider close right now.”
Jordan O’Neal, a junior, said, “As a hooper for the basketball team, I think it’s fun seeing the other talent on this campus. I think intramural sports is a great thing. So I’m looking forward to checking it out during the spring.”
Lequan Grayson, a freshman, said, “I guess I’ll just prepare for the spring. Nothing is going to change so we deal with the circumstances.”
Franklin mentioned he hopes students have fun. “I hope students utilize this facility to the best of their abilities.