Brandeis has over 200 registered clubs; myriads of improv and a cappella groups practice and perform constantly, highly-involved student activist groups such as Fair Trade and the Global AIDS Coalition for our and everyone else in the world's rights, and endless amounts of specialized activities, from cooking to painting our naked bodies in latex, can be pursed year- round. For the extra-curricular enthusiast, Brandeis really is the land of opportunity. But what about sports?

With 679 students and 30 faculty and staff members participating in at least one sport during the fall intramural season, the time has finally come when Brandeis students of any athletic caliber can find something to their liking.

The numbers speak for themselves. During last year's fall intramural season, there were 38 teams participating in football, volleyball, wiffleball and indoor soccer. This fall, the number jumped to 72 and the amount of participants for just two of the sports, flag football and soccer, was over 600 students.

Tom Rand, Assistant Director for Recreation/Intramural/Club Sports, could more simply be called "the man with the plan." Rand came to Waltham knowing that he would be taking on a new position in the athletics department, one created solely for him. However, he had no idea that he would be traveling into such uncharted territory.

"The chance to build my own program was exciting, but I didn't know I'd literally be starting from scratch," Rand said.

But in his first year, Rand established intramural programs in football, volleyball, wiffleball, basketball, soccer, softball, tennis and squash.

"We want to serve more than just varsity athletes," Rand said.

Of course, the one factor Rand had no control over was how a student population so notoriously ambivalent to athletics would respond. But as students heard about the burgeoning activity across South Street and word began to spread, interest quickly turned into involvement.

"It was mostly that I got to play with my friends and had a lot of fun," said Carla Christopher '06, an intramural soccer player. "It was very laid back, but you can take it as seriously or not as seriously as you want."

Ben Dashefsky '07, a varsity baseball player who recently led his intramural football team to the league championship, took an even lighter approach to intramural sports.

"It's just a good way to take attention off everything else you're doing and go out and have a good time playing sports," Dashefsky said. "I was sitting around in my Eli Manning jersey and someone said 'Hey you look good in that thing' and I said, 'Let's go play some IM football.'"

It soon became clear that club sports were actually making a dent into the Brandeis cultural consciousness. Sitting in the Boulevard during the IM football season, trash talk and detailed discussions about strategy for that night's game could be heard among the clatter of silverware and lunchtime conversation.

The myriad of former high school athletes who grasped on to beer pong and Madden Football to fill the need for organized competition at Brandeis suddenly reconnected with the thrill of a free throw or the satisfying slam of a Whiffle-ball bat. Students mingled and met other people with similar interests, and the student body had a chance to relieve the stress of Brandeis academics through friendly but satisfyingly competitive athletics.

"There are a lot of guys out there, and a lot of skill levels," said tri-intramural athlete Morgan Marcus '06. "It's a chance to play a sport at a competitive level but not have so much at stake as you would on a varsity team."

Intramurals attract a diverse group of students and provide them with an opportunity to play sports that they have never tried before. And with plans for innertube water polo and dodgeball in the works, it looks like Brandeis intramurals will continue to expand as a well-appreciated and much-needed fixture on campus.

"We just have this thirst for competition," Dashefsky said.