It’s that time of the year again. The pigskin has been inflated, the water bottles have been… It’s that time of the year again. The pigskin has been inflated, the water bottles have been filled, and both teams have finished their pregame warm-ups. No, Pitt isn’t playing West Virginia. It’s intramurals. For yet another year, more than 800 Pitt students will march their way to the Cost Sports Center and participate in an activity as old as Panther athletics itself. Intramural football is already deep into its season, and students agree it’s a great source of entertainment. ‘It’s great. It couldn’t be better,’ said Sweet Mitts team member Adam Fasullo. ‘It’s something fun to do. It keeps us off the streets, out of trouble,’ said participant Jonathan Graziano, with a smile. ‘ ‘It’s great competition because you do get some great athletes from all over coming to Pitt that played sports in high school but didn’t go on to play in college,’ said intramurals veteran Chris Hartland. ‘I think intramurals is a great way to keep active.’ With more than a dozen time slots available, divisions are open for even the busiest of students. Intramural games typically run Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., as well as Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., according to intramural sports coordinator William Wallace. ‘Sometimes we aren’t done until one o’clock in the morning,’ said intramural co-director Marilyn Ross. Differing from the NFL on more than the average player’s 40-yard dash time, intramural football is played with one-hand touch, six on six. In addition, the sport is run on a smaller, 80-by-35-yard field demarcated into four zones. Advancing the ball into a new zone results in a first down.’ For a complete set of guidelines, the intramural handbook is available at the Intramural and Recreation Office at the Petersen Events Center. Different time slots divide into separate leagues consisting of six to eight teams on average. After six weeks of intramural action starting in late September, the top two teams advance into the playoffs in most leagues. And although intramural football is a no-tackling league, it can become as competitive as an NFL postseason game in the playoffs. ‘I had a guy chasing me,’ said Hartland about a playoff game two years ago. ‘As I got closer to the end zone, I went to stretch for the corner, and then I felt a shove from behind. My cleat got caught on the pavement and I went head first into the bleacher seat, going unconscious immediately.’ Normally, though, gameplay goes without incident. It may turn heated during crunch-time, but every Pitt student has the opportunity to play in a league. There are divisions for fraternities as well as women. Students can register a team with friends or register as an unattached player for placement on a team. ‘If the students go to our Web site, www.intramurals.pitt.edu, all of that information [on how to sign up] is on there,’ said Ross. ‘We usually start in September. We’ll do a deadline. People will come and sign up, then we take a week to schedule, and then we usually start around the end of September every year.’ Signup sheets for both individuals and teams are available for download online. Completed forms are turned in at the Intramural and Recreation Office at 3034 Baierl Student Recreation Center. ‘[Signups were] very easy,’ said participant Taylor Will. Intramurals are also an outlet to enjoy college without draining a savings account. ‘All intramurals are free for students,’ said Ross. ‘I think it [being free] is awesome,’ said Will. ‘If it were like 20 [dollars], I probably wouldn’t have played.’ In addition to the activity existing as a free source of entertainment for participants, intramural football also creates team fan bases, especially within fraternities. ‘ ‘[The fraternity’s team will] go down [to the Cost Sports Center] and they’ll bring all their fraternity brothers,’ said Ross. ‘It’s a big deal.’ A playoff victory won’t result in Cathedral victory lights and there won’t be a ticker-tape parade, but for Pitt intramural athletes, the recreation is a source of both camaraderie and tradition. ‘It brings everyone together,’ said Graziano. ‘It’s just a fun time.’