Student Impact

A ball carrier for the Bengal Lancers eludes a Teer tackler during their flag football game. The rivalry between the Lancers and the Teers was perhaps the fiercest and the most well known in the intramural program. 

An article noting the extramural activities that Jim Potter was bringing to the program. 

The students felt the changes that Jim Potter began to bring to the program in 1965 and welcomed them with open arms. It was fun and competative again, and it brought students together like it had not for a long while. As one alumni, John Mace, recalled, "My best friends were the guys in my fraternity, but every other meaningful relationship I had at Trinity was a result of playing intramurals." Students enjoyed getting the chance to blow off some steam through friendly, and sometimes not so friendly, competition, and they enjoyed the benefits of having a program that was being worked on and improved, so much so that when there were rumblings that the newly allocated intramural funds could be pulled, the students rallied together, petitioned the administration, and helped keep the funds to the intramural program flowing. 

This improvement did not just stop at the Trinity IM program though. In the early 70's, Trinity enjoyed a period where extramural sports, or games played between intramural teams from different schools, were a big deal. Trinity participated in an annual cross town flag football game against St. Marys, hosted an all-state extramural tournament, and even put together a womens intramural basketball team to take on UIW before there was ever an actual womens team at Trinity. Jesse Villarreal, who was the head referee for Jim Potter during his time at Trinity (1968-1972) and the first paid official to work under Jim, headed up the officiating staff for the game against UIW, and as he remembers it, things got pretty heated on and off the court. He said, "I remember a good looking pkayer for UIW who was mad at me for calling a foul on her. After the game, we happened to cross paths and I ended up asking her out. What I found out later was that she only agreed to go out with me in the hopes that I would call the game in their favor the next time around." Although the two did not end up a couple, this was certainly an encounter Jesse would not have had if it had not been for the Intramural program and the affinity it had for bringing students from different walks of life together.