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Policies & Procedures |
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Students
All students currently enrolled at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) will be eligible to enter any sport promoted and run by the Intramural Sports Program as provided by the following rules. A regularly enrolled student may be defined as follows:
- Undergraduates: Anyone who has not received a degree and is currently enrolled in a least one UTPA course. They must be able to produce a current, valid UTPA I.D.
- Graduate: A student who has received a baccalaureate degree form any college or university and is attending at least one class at UTPA. They must be able to produce a current, valid UTPA I.D.
- All student participants are expected to remain enrolled; leaving, or dropping out of classes for any reason, will result in immediate suspension.
- Alumni are not allowed to participate in Intramural sports.
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Faculty/Staff
- All faculty members of UTPA are eligible to participate. They must have a current Wellness and Recreational Sports membership.
- All University staff members are eligible to participate. Staff may be defined as any person who is working consistently (20 hours per week) at the University. They have a current Wellness and Recreational Sports membership.
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Club Sports
- A club sport member who is on a UTPA competitive team may participate in their specific or related sport with some limitations. NO club sport member may play on an intramural sports related to their sport while there sport is in season. During the off season no intramural team shall have more than 2 club sport members listed on the roster.
- A club sport member is defined as any student that is currently listed on the roster of a club that is recognized by UTPA Club Sports Program as a “competitive” club. Recreational clubs (do not compete against other university club teams) do not have limitations on intramural participation.
- A club sport member will be listed on the club roster for an entire academic year unless he/she is dismissed from the team for the rest of the entire year. (i.e. A club sport member cannot participate with a club, take their name off the club sport roster to enable them to participate in intramurals with other club sport members, and then return to the club sport team after the intramural season.)
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Professionals
- Any person who has established oneself as a professional in any sport will be ineligible in the sport or its related counterpart.
- Definition of a professional: A person whose livelihood is dependent in part or in full upon participation in the sport.
- An individual may regain eligibility after a 5-year period.
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Intercollegiate
- A person, who has won a varsity letter or award in a sport or its related sport at UTPA, a four-year college or university, or two-year junior college, will not be able to compete in that sport or its related counterpart for the duration of that academic year.
- If a student practices with a UTPA varsity team but does not play, he/she will still NOT be eligible to play intramurals. Once they play or practice in a sanctioned UTPA varsity event I that sport or its related counterpart, they will be ineligible for the remainder of that academic year.
- If an intramural sport is played before the varsity season begins in a given academic year, official UTPA Athletic roster will be looked at and/or the varsity coaches will be questioned to see if that participant will eventually play for the UTPA varsity team during the academic year. If the coach fully intends on the student-athlete to play in game situations, that student will ruled ineligible to play in the specified intramural sport.
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Team Rosters
- Participants in any team sport must be listed on the official team roster kept in the Wellness and Recreational Sports Office. All players must be listed on this roster before they are eligible to play. First name, last name, university I.D. number and signed by the participant must be listed.
- Individuals may be added to the roster anytime before their second league game, by going to the Wellness and Recreational Sports Office and adding them to the team roster after second game is played all rosters are final. For tournament only sports or special events, rosters must be completely filled out before the team’s first game, no additions afterwards.
- Participants may only compete on one team per division (Men’s, Women’s, and Co-Rec). Once a player has played for Team A, he/she may not play for Team B in the same respective division. Participants are eligible to play on as many as 2 teams (1 Men’s, 1 Co-Rec for instance).
- It is the responsibility of each player and/or team captain to maintain a current and correct roster.
- If it is found that Player A played on more than one team within the same division (Men’s for instance), the second team that individual participated on will automatically forfeit any and all games that the player in question participated in. If a captain or player knowingly plays or allows an ineligible player to play that player and captain will be suspended for one year.
- Any and all protests filed by other teams that are eligibility issues are encouraged to file the protest as soon as the realize the infraction so that the team and player can be notified as soon as possible in case they do not realize they are not abiding by the eligibility rules.
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Registration
Each intramural sport has a registration time frame (usually 2 to 3 weeks) that entry forms are accepted. It is the responsibility of each team or individual to stay informed of these important dates. Late Entry Forms Will Not Be Accepted! |
Schedules
- Schedules will be e-mailed to each captain and will be posted on the Wellness and Recreational Sports web site. The schedule is final. Due to the large number of entries, it is only fair that once the schedule has been posted that it stay that way. See “forfeits/defaults” for situations in which your team cannot make their regularly schedule games. Only in cases of unforeseen extreme emergencies will game be rescheduled apart from the original.
- Because there are so many teams and individuals participating in intramural sports, it is impossible to produce a schedule that meets everyone’s needs. Most intramural events occur during the evening hours during the week and sometimes on weekends. The Intramural Assistant will do his/her best to meet the unique scheduling needs of a university population. YOU MUST BE FLEXIBLE!!
- Captains meeting are held the day the entry form is due for each team sport. Rules, regulations and times of events and leagues will be discussed at this meeting, so you can have general idea of when the games will be played.
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Forfeits
Game time is forfeit time. Teams must be signed in and be ready to play at game time. A forfeit is recorded as a loss. The first forfeit will result in a loss for the team and the second one will result in the team being dropped from that league
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Defaults
Due to the busy schedules of most students, there will be times when a team or individual will not be able to make it to their scheduled game. In this instance, the team or individual may communicate to the Intramural Assistant via email or phone that they will not be present. This must be done at least 24 hours before the scheduled game to allow enough time to call the opposing team or individual and to make any other personnel changes that may result.
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Playoffs will be determined by the Intramural Assistant. All teams are eligible for the playoffs depending on their record. Individual and team playoffs will be made available after the last league game is played. During playoffs, teams must be available to play any day, at any time.
Playoff seeding and tiebreakers are determined as follows:
- Win-loss record
- Head to head record
- Coin flip
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In many aspects, good sportsmanship is just as important as the score. At UTPA, we expect good sportsmanship from all of our participants. Good sportsmanship, however, is not limited to just players; it should be directed towards official, professional staff, supervisors, scorekeepers, fans as well as opponents and teammates.
The following guidelines will be strictly enforced. The purpose of the guidelines is to make the participants aware of what is to be expected of them and list what the repercussions of disregarding them are.
- No player, coach, or team follower (fan) shall:
- Use foul language, threaten, or verbally abuse any other participant, intramural employee or spectator before, during or after the game.
- participate in a game for which he/she is ineligible;
- argue or talk back to the game official(s);
- intentionally strike, push, trip or otherwise physically assault or fight with another player, spectator, official, or staff member, or
- mistreat the facility, equipment or supplies of UTPA
- Warning and Ejection.
A warning and ejection system will be used to enforce the sportsmanship policy. Individuals or teams will be issued a warning as explained below. Two warnings will result in an ejection of an individual or the forfeiture of a game However, please note: EJECTIONS CAN BE ISSUED WITHOUT WARNINGS!
Sport Specific Examples:
- Basketball
- Technical Foul = warning
- Second technical foul = ejection
- Three technical fouls on one team = forfeit
- Football
- Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty = warning
- Second unsportsmanlike penalty = ejection
- Three unsportsmanlike penalties on one team = forfeit
- Soccer/Volleyball (Indoor & Outdoor)
- Yellow card = warning
- Second yellow card = ejection
- Three ejections on one team = forfeit
- Softball
- Verbal admonishment = warning
- Second verbal warning or first severe act = ejection
- Three ejections on one team = forfeit
- Ejection
- If any individual ejected, he/she must leave the premises within one minute. If this requirement is not met, the game may be forfeited by the supervisor on duty.
- Any player, coach, or team fan receiving an ejection must schedule a meeting with the Coordinator of Intramural Sports/Professional Intramural Assistant before participating in the next intramural contest. Penalties for ejection include a minimum suspension from one game, to an entire academic year or life.
- Team captains are responsible for the conduct of their players, sidelines, and spectators. Team captains who cannot fulfill this responsibility will be issued a warning and a subsequent ejection if necessary.
- In the case of extreme misconduct, teams and or individuals will be referred to the Dean of Students.
- A participant may appeal the decision of the Coordinator to the Intramural Advisory Council. Such an appeal must be received, in writing within 24 hours of the Professional Intramural Assistants decision in the Wellness & Recreational Sports Office.
- If a team is a repeat offender, it is at the discretion of the Professional Intramural Assistant to ban that team for the remainder of the season or intramurals altogether. Participation is A Privilege, Not A Right
- Fighting
Fighting is defined as a participant intentionally striking, pushing, slapping, punching, elbowing, tackling, or committing any other malicious act toward any other person. Fighting is never permitted in intramural contests. Participants who fight will be ejected immediately and suspended from all further participation until the outcome of a disciplinary action meeting with the Professional Intramural Assistant
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Rainouts
Rainouts will be rescheduled at the discretion of the Professional Intramural Assistant for Intramural Sports. In the event a game cannot be rescheduled, each team will receive a win for the scheduled contest. In case of inclement weather, participants can call the Wellness & Recreational Sports Office, Monday – Friday, 8:00a – 5:00p at 956-292-7808. After 5:00p participants can call the weather hotline for updated game information.
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Alcohol & Tobacco Policy
The intramural playing areas are “no alcohol/tobacco” areas. If either is present, the individual(s) will be asked to leave the playing area. This policy includes spectators. The supervisor and/or officials have the authority and responsibility to make decisions regarding students who are not permitted to play.
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Pets
No pets will be allowed at Intramural events or on Intramural fields.
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Protests
Questions about an official’s or umpire’s judgment are not grounds for a protest. If, in the team captain’s opinion, an error was made, he/she must, before the ball becomes live, notify the official that he/she is protesting a rule interpretation. If the captain does not immediately notify the official of his/her intent to protest, he/she waives all rights to protest on that call. The official shall stop the game and record the game situation on the back of the score sheet. The intramural staff will be called to the game site. If possible, a decision will be rendered on site.
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Assumption of Risk
Prior to participation in recreational sports activities, individuals who participate must sign a waiver releasing UTPA from all liability. Participation in recreational sports is voluntary and all individual will be doing so at there own risk. UTPA is not responsible for any injury that may occur to individuals participating in any recreational sports activity.
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Free Agents
Individual intramural participants (free agents) cannot physically be placed on a team by the Professional Intramural Assistant of Intramural Sports. However, free agent names will be made available to teams or captains in need of players. The intramural staff will make every effort to make free agents available to teams or, if possible, create a team from available free agents. We cannot and do not guarantee free agents will be able to play on a team.
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Captains Responsibilities
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Each student organization or other group that will be participating in intramural sports should elect or appoint a “captain”. The intramural calendar is filled with various different events throughout the year. With so many policies, procedures, and dates to remember, you will need a person that can represent your group and be responsible for keeping everyone updated and informed
Teams and organizations will need to be aware of deadlines and any policy changes so that everyone will have correct and updated information. Your captain is responsible for:
- Being aware of all Intramural Policies, including eligibility rules, registrations processes, and have a general understanding of the Intramural Program.
- Making sure all rosters are filled out in a timely fashion and are updated and correct.
- Inquiring about any and all eligibility questions that may come up during the year from the Intramural staff or otherwise.
- Signing up their teams by the deadline and being aware of schedules (captains meetings) and other important dates.
- Developing a relationship with the Coordinator of Intramural Sports so that they can have input in any policy or format changes to the Intramural Program.
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