Late last month, the sign-up sheets went out. Friends grouped to form teams, picked quirky names and made plans for practice pick-up games, all in anticipation of one event: the start of the five-on-five intramural league.

A staple of intramural sports, five-on-five basketball is one of the more popular offerings on campus, fielding two divisions with a total of 19 teams.

“It’s a bunch of guys getting together and having fun,” said Sam Nutis, a freshman entrepreneurship major.

A two-division sport for men and a one-division sport for women, five-on-five basketball is the more advanced of two forms of basketball offered by campus recreation. The league meets once a week on Thursdays and teams will play one to two games per week. Five-on-five basketball is played with the rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations rules. There is a longer shot clock than college basketball or the National Basketball Association and teams must have at least four players to play, though a team usually has more.

At the end of the season, playoffs are done in divisional format, with the teams from each division sporting the best records facing off for championship status. In case of a division tie, teams with identical records will have a tie-breaker game to determine the winner.

Not unlike other intramural sports, some students are new to five-on-five divisional basketball.

“I don’t know what to expect,” said Felix Tabenshlak, a sophomore speech pathology major. “All I know is that I’m playing for the worst team in the league.”

Some players are more into the fun of the game, than the glory of the gold.

“I’m hoping there will be competitive teams,” Nutis said. “I want this to be a fun season. We’ve got a good team ready. I think we’ll be going to the championship.”

– Barry Levites, News staff