With a new semester just underway, spring intramurals have also begun their seasons.Club lacrosse, five-on-five basketball and intramural softball are all sports that will be offered this semester according to Michael Matherne, director of Campus Recreation.

Currently, the lacrosse and five-on-five basketball leagues are underway, while softball action will begin later in the spring.

“We don’t overlap seasons because we like to give students the opportunity to play both (basketball and softball),” Matherne said. “If we lap the seasons, obviously you can’t be in two places at one time, so we don’t start softball until basketball is over.”

Entering its third season, Matherne said the lacrosse team is in good shape with numbers up this year.

“We have about 27 student-athletes who play lacrosse, and again they’re non-varsity, non-scholarship (athletes),” Matherne said. “They play because they enjoy playing, they enjoy the camaraderie and I think they enjoy representing Nicholls State University.”

Matherne said the two 7 p.m. home games this year against the University of Houston and Liberty University will be played under the lights of John L. Guidry Stadium.

Basketball games will be played in Shaver Gym, with the teams divided into red, gray and blue divisions. The teams will play within their pools during the season.

After the season is complete, the top three teams from each division advance to the playoffs where they will square off in a single elimination bracket with one team receiving a bye.

Matherne said the top two finishers in the tournament advance to the state tournament, which will be held at McNeese on the weekend of April 22, 23 and 24. However, if the two teams have exhibited unsportsmanlike behavior during the season, Matherne said they would not advance.

Michelle Small, a health and physical education senior from Harvey, who has participated in volleyball and girls basketball, said she enjoyed going to the state tournament in basketball the past two years.

“It was fun,” Small said. “We had a nice time. We didn’t really come in (any) place, but we had a nice time out there. We played a lot of games. We all got together as a team, and we did different things.”

Small said she would have participated in intramurals this spring, but said she did not think there were enough teams to have a girl’s league.

Phillip Rose, a nursing senior from Thibodaux, who participates in flag football and basketball, said intramurals are a good way for students who do not participate in athletics on the collegiate level to stay involved.

“Since high school, you don’t get to practice or play a sport anymore if you’re not playing big college sports,” Rose said. “Intramurals have really been good for keeping everybody going at school, and everybody loves the competition.”

The only qualification for participating in intramurals is a student must carry at least three semester hours. Additionally, faculty and staff are also invited to participate, according to Matherne.

Matherne said a varsity athlete could participate in any intramural sport, as long as it is not the sport that they compete in on the collegiate level.

Although the season has already started, students can still sign-up at the Campus Recreation Office where they are put on a free agent list reserved for players looking for teams to join.

“The schedule’s made so the sign-up date for individual teams has passed, but if a student wants to be added to an existing team, they can do that,” Matherne said. “They can come in here (Campus Recreation), and we can give them the names of some team captains.