Campus > Organizations and Recreation > Sports, recreation and wellness > Campus recreation > Intramural sports > Intramural policies and procedures

Intramural policies and procedures

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The purpose of the Campus Recreation Office is to provide a comprehensive program of sports activities designed to meet the diverse needs and interests of Murray State University students, faculty, and staff. Campus Recreation provides opportunities to participate in open, self-directed recreational activities to develop sports skills for lifelong enjoyment, to acquire and maintain an appreciation of physical fitness and leisure, and to participate in activities that enhance social and emotional fitness.

The Campus Recreation Office is responsible for the management of all recreational and involved sports programs including intramural sports, sport clubs, and special events. We invite all members of the Murray State community to become acquainted with the activities offered through Campus Recreation. The purpose of the following information is to ensure a positive experience for all that participate.

Any person involved in intramural sports is encouraged to become well acquainted with the rules, regulations, and program procedures. It is the responsibility of all participants to abide by the rules, because, in case of infractions, ignorance is never an excuse. The Campus Recreation office and any of its staff reserve the right to rule on any eligibility or sportsmanship matters that interfere with fair and fun competition.

GENERAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Although the Campus Recreation Office is located in the Student Rec. and Wellness Center, our hours of operation are only Monday – Friday from 8-4:30. The Wellness Center Staff is NOT trained to work with Campus Rec. information and therefore cannot be of assistance outside of the norma
All coaches are issued one schedule per season for each event. These schedules may be picked up in the Campus Recreation Office. It is the responsibility of the coach to inform his / her team of all game days, times and reschedules. We do not give schedule information over the phone to eliminate communication errors.
Each sport will have two scheduled meeting time for all team coaches. Rosters will ONLY be accepted during these meetings – please choose ONE as listed on the rule / information sheet. Team participants are also limited due to the particular sport – Softball – 20 and all the others (Football, Basketball, Soccer and Volleyball – 15).
Each year, a small number of injuries occur which require hospital treatment. The nature of intramural sports and sport club activities combined with the large number of participants makes this inevitable. It is strongly recommended that all participants have a physical exam and secure adequate medical insurance prior to participation. Murray State University and the Campus Recreation Office do not provide medical insurance coverage for intramural sports and sport club participants. Likewise, Campus Recreation does not assume any responsibility for any injuries that are sustained during intramural events.

Please remember, all participation is voluntary.

INDIVIDUAL ELIGIBILITY

All ENROLLED students are eligible for participation as well as ESL students
(paying an activity fee) and current faculty and staff.

To be considered eligible, players must be identified on the nightly game sheet provided by the Campus Recreation Office. Any player that is not identified will not be allowed to participate in that particular game.
Identified players must then present their MSU ID to the Supervisor in charge to be checked in.
Identified players are those that have not only COMPLETED INFORMATION ON THE ROSTER (printed FULL name, signature, social security number)
Considered ENROLLED by the university (which means tuition is paid in full, scholarships have all been processed, or at least two payments have been credited on a payment plan.
Current college athletes with ANY ASSOCIATION with the MSU varsity team (red shirt, practicing, working out, on the roster, Prop 48, receiving grants or aid) will not be allowed to participate as a player in their sport or related sport (i.e. baseball / softball).
Teams are more than welcome to encourage any varsity athlete to coach, but NEVER play.
In those intramural sports that precede the varsity season, team membership will be determined by the previous year’s roster unless proof can be given as to intent not to participate in that sport or related sport.
Students trying out for a varsity team are eligible until such time as their team status is determined.
Any team found to be playing with a MSU varsity athlete will be penalized a forfeit for every contest ineligible player participated, ineligible for tournament and possibly dropped from league.
Any student, faculty or staff that has received a varsity letter from any NCAA division 1 university, or has professional experience, must sit out of intramural play for a period of TWO ACADEMIC YEARS.
Any student, faculty or staff that has played for any junior college, (NAIA or division 2 or 3), must sit out one academic year. Example –received letter in basketball spring 2006, ineligible for intramurals until the 2008-2009 academic year (sit out 06-07 & 07-08).
Members of MSU Sport Club teams are limited to two Club team players per game in their related sport.
Example – Joe, Bob, Phil and Stuart all play Club Soccer and all want to be on the same intramural soccer team; all their names may be on the roster, but only two will be allowed per contest.
They may not substitute for each other in one game.
A Sport Club member is one who participates with his/her team in any game or match against another team outside of MSU.
ANY INDIVIDUAL THAT KNOWINGLY PARTICIPATES UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME WILL BE BARRED FROM FURTHER COMPETITION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THAT SEASON.
THE TEAM WILL THEN FORFEIT EVERY MATCH THAT HE/SHE PARTICIPATED IN.
NO TOURNAMENT PLAY WILL BE ALLOWED, AND THE TEAM MAY BE DROPPED FROM THE LEAGUE ENTIRELY.
CAMPUS RECREATION SUPERVISORS WILL IMMEDIATELY STOP ANY GAME THAT HAS AN ILLEGAL PARTICIPANT.

PROTESTS
Protests are ONLY allowed in two situations:

Rule interpretation
Player eligibility

Protests are not allowed for ANY type of judgment call.

The protest must be made in writing and turned into the Campus Recreation Office along with a $30 protest fee. Any upheld protest will result in a refund, but a lost protest will

If an eligibility protest is made prior to a game and it can be determined that the player is ineligible, he/she will not be allowed to participate.
NO CAMPUS RECREATION STAFF WILL KNOWINGLY PERMIT AN INELIGIBILE PLAYER TO PARTICIPATE.
If the eligibility of the player in question cannot be determined, the team has the option of using the player. However, if it is later determined that player is ineligible, a forfeit will be assessed to the team using the ineligible player.
The Campus Recreation Staff may forfeit any contest immediately upon discovery of any ineligible participants.
Teams may not use ineligible payers even by mutual agreement of both teams.
Although protests concerning player eligibility do not have to be made on the field during the contest, it is recommended that the official and the supervisors are made aware of the player in question for identification purposes.
Player eligibility protests must be made prior to the end of the regular season.
During tournament play, a protest must be filed by 9 AM the following day. During a tournament, the last contest in which an ineligible player participated shall be recorded as a forfeit win for the opposing team. No other reorganization of the tournament will occur. Upheld player eligibility protests will result in a forfeit for each of the games that the ineligible player competed. Game sheets will be used to determine prior participation.

Mandatory Coach’s/ Captain’s Meetings- Season rules, scheduling information and other questions will be answered at this time.

Every team / organization MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE representative in attendance with the team roster, entry fee and signed Forfeit Fee Contract at all scheduled coaches meetings.

Two meeting are scheduled for each major sport, attendance is required at ONE, NO EXCEPTIONS.

If a team fails to send a representative, the roster will not be accepted.

Rosters must contain all requested information such as name, signature, social security number and phone number.
Players will not be eligible for competition until all information is complete. Signatures should be from the participant only.
Team coaches and or players should not forge signatures for the sake of eligibility.
Once the roster is submitted, the office staff will verify every participant’s MSU enrollment status according to the Registrar’s Office.
Once enrollment is verified, each individual will be highlighted on the roster. New names may be added to the roster until it is considered full (see team roster limits in previous section).
Names must be on the team roster by 3 PM game day for verification and communication purposes.
Sign up at the game site will not be allowed.
To be eligible for post-season playoffs, participants MUST have played at least one regular season game with chosen team. No roster additions or changes will be allowed after the regular season.
A participant may not remove his/her name from one roster and add it to another after he/she had played one game for their original team. Participants may play for more than one team, but only under the listed circumstances:

*Residential College and Independent team
*Residential College and Greek team

Players must then choose one team for post-season play and stick with that team, no matter the circumstances.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT TO KNOW THE EXISTING RULES GOVERNING ALL CAMPUS RECREATION ACTIVITIES. IGNORANCE OF ANY RULE IS NOT AN EXCUSE. CAMPUS RECREATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PUT INTO IMMEDIATE EFFECT ANY RULE CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS THAT ARE WARRANTED.

Mandatory Official’s Clinic – Many of the activities offered by Campus Recreation require that officials be supplied by each team participating. Official pay (based upon experience) and game scheduling will be discussed at the clinic.

The official must be a member of the team he/ she is representing.
If a team fails to send at least two (unless otherwise notified) representative to the Official’s Clinic, they will be dropped from the league and a scheduling fee will be retained.
Officials will not be accepted after the two scheduled meeting times.
Once an official accepts responsibility to represent his/her team, continued team eligibility remains on the basis of that official fulfilling his/her obligation.
If an official fails to show up for one game, the team forfeits the next scheduled game and will not be allowed in post-season play.
If an official fails to show up for two scheduled games, the team will be dropped from the league.

FORFEITS - GAME TIME IS FORFEIT TIME. Teams must be on the field or court at exactly game time according to the Supervisor’s watch. If a team is not in position at exactly game time, the game will be called a forfeit.

The object of any intramural program is to involve the members of the student body, faculty and staff in an active program.
If a team forfeits a game, the objectives of the program are not met and participants are deprived of their activity.
It is with this principle in mind that the following rules governing forfeits and defaults have been established.
A team is considered to be two less than the minimum required for each activity. Basketball is the only exception; four players are required to prevent a forfeit.
All line-ups have been turned in, all IDs verified and jersey numbers have been entered into the game book.
The forfeiting team will be responsible for paying the $20 fine before their next scheduled game in order to prevent an additional forfeit that would result in disqualification from the league.
The first forfeit will eliminate the team from post-season play.
Any team that fails to pay the forfeit fee will be ineligible for further competition.

DEFAULTS -

If a team realizes that they will not have enough to play and the rescheduling deadline has passed, they may opt to take a “default”.
By defaulting, the team will only be charged a loss and the opposing team a win. No fees will be incurred and post-season play will not be affected.
DEFAULTS MUST BE CALLED INTO THE OFFICE FROM THE COACH OR CAPTAIN BY 4 PM GAMEDAY.
A team will be allowed two defaults per season; the third will be treated as a forfeit.

Weather related game cancellations –
In the event of inclimate weather, participants / teams / coaches, etc. can call the Campus Recreation recorded message line at 809-6001 after 4 PM to be informed of weather cancellations and make of games if possible. It is the responsibility of each team to call for information regarding cancelled games.

SPORTSMAN SHIP RATING SCALE

After every game, each team will be rated by the respective supervisor for each contest according to sportsmanship displayed. Supervisors will NOT inform teams of ratings after a contest. Ratings will be posted outside the Campus Rec. Office the following morning. The following system will be used.

Cussing, poor behavior, blatant disregard for rules and or policies and mouthing the other team, staff or officials WILL NOT be tolerated. Teams must maintain a 7.0 average to win a division or participate in post-season play offs. Any team that falls below a 4.5 will be immediately disqualified.

A – 10 points will be awarded to a team which demonstrates extremely good sportsmanship and maintains an attitude of complete cooperation.

B –8 points will be awarded to a team if there is no incidence of poor sportsmanship beyond reason.

C – 6 points will be awarded to a team when unsportsmanlike conduct is not present in a game except for minor infractions. A team will receive this score or lower, depending on the sport for:

A technical foul in basketball
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in football
A verbal warning issued in Softball, Volleyball, or Soccer

D – 2 points will be awarded to a team:

When a player or coach is ejected for abusive remarks, (ejection carries a 2 game suspension and a meeting with the Coordinator)
If players persist in questioning the officials, or if any player repeatedly argues with an official
If spectators, clearly associated with the team fail to cooperate with the official

E – 0 points will be awarded to a team:

If a player or coach is ejected for any physical, or attempted physical action taken
towards an opponent, official or staff.
If a player is so antagonistic to an official or staff that the game cannot be played with proper order and control
If a player disregards a warning of unnecessary roughness

A TEAM MAY RECEIVE AN “E” WITHOUT A PLAYER BEING EJECTED. DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF EACH INCIDENT, THIS SHEET MAY BE AMENDED BY THE COORDINATOR OF CAMPUS RECREATION.

** Code for playoffs: If a team has two players ejected during the playoffs, either one game or over the period of playoff games, the team is disqualified from further play.

Contact Information: The Campus Recreation Office is located inside the Student Rec. & Wellness Center. Our phone number is (270) 809-6791.