New club sports director a familiar face — Butch Fealy adds “director of club sports” to his job title

With the recent departure of Gordon Gresch, current Idaho Director of Intramural Sports Butch Fealy is stepping in and adding director of club sports to his business card.

Fealy will oversee the many club sports offered at Idaho, as well as maintain his involvement with intramurals. He encourages students to get out and try at least one of the two, whether it’s for the athletic or even the social opportunities the programs bring to the table.

“Anybody who is interested in sports or just getting to know a good chunk of the campus community should try intramurals,” Fealy said.

The only cost associated with the program is a $10 per team fee. The process of getting involved with intramural sports usually begins with living groups or even students who simply share the same classes getting a team together for recreational or competitive levels of activity, he said.

“Students can try something new, like our outdoor 3-on-3 basketball, or our traditional flag football, soccer or ultimate Frisbee. Most of the sports in the fall and winter are men versus men and women versus women, and a lot of the co-ed activities are in the spring,” Fealy said. “We’ll have entry forms all over the place and online. If someone doesn’t have a team but wants to play they can come in and sign up as a free agent and we’ll get them on a team. Forms can be turned in to the desk at the campus recreation office.”

Fealy is eager to begin his new job as director of club sports, and as with intramurals, he strongly encourages students to get involved. Sport clubs are teams such as the club baseball team that represent the UI and play other universities in their specific sport. The clubs generally practice a couple of times a week as well as travel and play other teams from around the Northwest, Fealy said.

“You’ll see a lot of the teams out at Palousafest (on Saturday) and if you fill out an intro sheet we’ll get it to the club president and they can contact you,” he said.

Club sports offer a unique chance to build leadership qualities and get to know people with similar interests. The sport clubs receive some money from UI through student fees, but in most cases they must also fundraise to make up the difference that they need, Fealy said.

Some of the more popular clubs include lacrosse, baseball, hockey, rugby and ultimate Frisbee. There are also some unique outdoor sports such as trapshooting and skiing/snowboarding that students can get involved in. Anybody interested in any of the sports listed above or even starting a new club can contact Fealy or visit him in his office at the Student
Recreation Center.

Karter Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]

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