College sports: varsity, club or IM?

Students have many options to continue playing sports

Different people prefer different commitments and levels in sports
in college. Colleges actually offer three different levels of sports intramural, club, and varsity.

Intramural is a fun based, no pressure way for students to participate in sports at their school. Often a more unorganized college activity, there are many opportunities on

campuses for students to participate whenever convenient.
Club sports are the second level of collegiate athletics.

Quite a bit more competitive and more organized, club sports in college appeal to those who want a more competitive experience but still are not wishing for the intense Division 1 athletic experience.
Many club sports do require travel, as colleges compete against each other, but are still community based.

Lastly, varsity is the headline school team that requires a big commitment to travel and time.

A majority of the participants in the varsity collegiate sport level are being recruited to a university specifically for their athletic ability, and many are receiving aid and scholarship money just by being an athlete.

Often, the pride and joy of universities and their reputations are based on athletic successes by their varsity teams.
“I feel like the friends that I made through that were some of the like, they’re my best friends now being two years out of college,” said Erik Beckers, who played Division 3 tennis at Bethel University.

For Beckers, varsity sports in college was a great fit.
“I felt like I was able to have a social life, I was able to do really well in academics and then also play my sport, and then have good balance,” he said.
These three different types offer different levels and commitments that fit your schedule.

If you are committed to your academics and want a less time-consuming option, intramural sports are perfect in that you can choose when you want to attend.

Author

You may also like…

Who is Lizzie Hanson? MA’s new counselor

Minnehaha's new counselor Lizzie Hanson, on her journey to MA Competing in the Ironman World Championship race, getting married in Hawaii, and starting a brand new job back home in Minnesota all within a few days, that was what early October looked like for Lizzie...

In the stands

MA’s student section has been good this year... mostly Over the summer of 2025, Jessa Anderson, David Hoffner, and Derrick Swanson met up and made a plan to boost the positivity and attendance at spotting events. They worked hard, and Swanson came up with the idea to...

Life in the circus

M.A. students perform in Solstice at St. Paul's Circus Juventas It’s a Tuesday night in early December, and Circus Juventas (CJ) has just finished dress rehearsal. Combining every factor of the show like costumes, makeup, dialogue, and the events, the actors and...

Dating: it’s complicated

How social media complicates today's teenage relationships Through the beautiful traditions created over time, there have also been detrimental changes specifically over the past couple years in regards to school, one being the exposure to scary behavior in local...

Waymo: Safer Self Driving Cars

What if cars drove themselves? I used to think about that a lot, being a big sci-fi fan. But I don’t have to ask anymore: they can and do. The new Waymo LLC, originally a Google project, has begun manufacturing completely self-driving cars. These new cars are most...