Morris Recreation Center has been hosting intramural games for more than 10 years. They have hosted basketball, volleyball, foosball and around 40 other sports to accommodate the students of Texas A&M University-Commerce. With Covid-19, there have been some changes as to how the games can function. While sports have been able to continue normally with face coverings and limited team members, the recreation center has come up with a new idea for students to be able to participate in sports other ways. 

ESports has been growing in popularity over the past few years, and A&M-Commerce is joining the fun. The recreation center started the ESports league on Jan. 25 and games will go through March 8. They started with NBA 2K21 and Fortnite. The competition will finish with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and League of Legends. 

But how do ESports work with the intramural referees?

Tehillah Ndhlovu is a sophomore at A&M-Commerce and has been working at the recreation center for around five months. Ndhlovu is an intramural referee and explained the process. For normal sports, the referees would first have a training week where they inform the teams of the rules of the sport they are participating in. The next week, they would go straight into the competition and allow the teams to battle for the title of champion. Ndhlovu is “excited to officiate the rules of ESports and try something different!” She believes this will be a fun and new way for the recreation center to add some diversity to the sports world. 

Along with ESports, the recreation center will continue with other leagues and tournaments. For more information and the schedule for intramural games, visit the TAMUC website, click on Campus Life & Student Success and then Intramural Sports.