The Northern Star sat down with NIU intramural sports coordinator Galen Mahle to find out more about the recreation opportunities available to NIU students.

Northern star: Are there any new ideas to make intramural sports better?

Galen Mahle: One thing I added this semester is a kickball tournament.

I know it’s not a high-profile sport like basketball or football. Anybody can play and have a good time.

Maybe this could get more students to get involved with intramural sports.

We also are finding new ways to train student officials. We need to continue to get better in that aspect.

NS: What is the most popular intramural sport?

GM: It’s flag football, but the one we get the most teams in is basketball.

NS: Will there ever be trophies for teams that win?

GM: Probably not because the trophy is really the T-shirt. That’s what all universities do. It wouldn’t be feasible to do trophies for ever person on every team.

We have about 800 champions. So getting 800 trophies … probably will never happen. And I would not want to have one trophy to each team. Who would be the person to get the trophy?

I think we will stick to the T-shirt and picture idea so everyone can see them on the wall.

NS: Will they ever post the stats of games to make it more interesting for the students?

GM: That’s something we’re tempted to do. We don’t have enough staff to keep score, keep the clock and keep the stats.

If we had enough staff, then that would be secondary.

NS: How do you feel about the Northern Star finally giving intramural sports some exposure?

GM: I’m excited about it! This is a great way for students to learn what’s going on in intramural sports. For new students coming in, it’s very hard to know what’s offered or how to sign up. This could be great for the students.

NS: Do you think it would be fair for the Northern Star to post coverage of certain intramural sports events, knowing the university has sports teams also?

GM: I do think as far as the students go, [more than] 5,000 students play in our intramural sports.

It may be secondary in nature to NCAA sports, but our program touches a lot of students, so it would be nice to see them get some recognition also.

NS: How many sports are there?

GM: Right now there are nine sports in the fall, and nine in the spring.

NS: What is your favorite sport?

GM: My favorite is flag football.

NS: What sports do you play?

GM: I still play softball and flag football.

I used to play basketball, but I don’t have the stamina anymore.