UM's Intramural Lady

By: Rio Smith

Want to know who is the go to person for the craze that is intramural sports?

UM Student Life Coordinator Kristen Bowen

Look no further than Kristen Bowen, the coordinator for Student Life. Or as the intramural players like to call her, the intramural lady.

Coming to Montevallo after previously being enrolled at two larger universities, Bowen says being the coordinator of intramural sports on a smaller campus is special and being called the "Intramural Lady" doesn't bother her at all.

" I gotten to know so many of the students on campus through intramurals so I definitely like that affectionate title," says Bowen.

Teams and fans watching the championship game.

Since her arrival last fall, she has updated the intramural rule books and improved the point system for the Campus cup, a trophy awarded to the top men's and women's teams of the academic year.

Also, she coordinated the flag football and basketball champions to attend the regional championships to compete against other universities, something that has never been done before here at UM.

Kevin Britt, a referee under Bowen, had to pass officiating tests to become qualified to ref games. He says Bowen was the missing piece for intramural sports as well as all of Student Life.

 “It’s awesome," said Britt. "I've been saying this since I got here, I think it’s really cool that Student Life is finally able to get someone on staff that they are paid to work late hours at night so that she can not only go to NPC events but come to all the games.”

Things left on Bowen's to-do list is to increase the awareness of intramural sports throughout campus as well as continuing to tweak the Campus Cup, such as putting more emphasis on winning championships.

One problem she doesn't have is not being liked by her students. Bowen says the student interaction here is the most rewarding aspect.

"Just in the student's I've gotten to see and see them take on more responsibilities has been great,"

says Bowen. "And I consider my students as my friends as well."

Alpha Kappa Lambda and Femme Fatale won the intramural Campus Cups for the Men's and Women's division, respectively. Bad Company came in second in the men's while Tie-Dye finished second in the women's.