Miami honors its intramural champions with special T-shirt wall
Miami Rec offers 12 intramural sports
Miami honors its intramural champions with special T-shirt wall
Miami Rec offers 12 intramural sports
For many people, intramural sports are used as an outlet and a space for healthy competition. This spring, Miami Recreation is offering 12 intramural sports, ranging from volleyball and basketball to cornhole and spikeball. Miami University Recreation has found a new way to showcase these intramural sports through a new championship T-shirt wall.
The idea of an intramural sports champion T-shirt wall came to Miami after Mike Arnos, senior director of recreation, and Doug Curry, executive director of recreation, attended the Mid-American Conference Directors Conference. After seeing a similar display at another school, they brought the idea back to Miami University to showcase community and history within the intramurals program.
The wall sits on the bottom level of the Recreation Center and features 24 champion shirts from over the last 20 years. These champion T-shirts showcase the pride of our program, the hard work of our winning teams, and Miami’s history. Miami University is one of the first institutions of higher learning to have a program dedicated to student intramurals.
Thomas Parmelius Van Voorhis (1894–1960) was a pioneering educator, coach, and athletic administrator whose 35‑year career at Miami University helped shape the landscape of collegiate intramural sports in the United States. Joining Miami’s faculty in 1921, Van Voorhis quickly became known for his innovative approach to physical education and student recreation. As director of Miami’s intramural program, he transformed a small, informal set of activities into one of the nation’s most comprehensive and influential intramural systems.
Van Voorhis believed deeply in the educational value of recreation, emphasizing sportsmanship, leadership, and community as essential components of student life. His structured leagues, standardized rules, and inclusive philosophy became a model widely adopted by colleges across the country. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Miami’s student population expanded dramatically. Van Voorhis:
- Scaled intramurals to serve thousands of students
- Added new sports and activities
- Integrated women’s and men’s programs as campus culture evolved
By the time he retired, Miami had one of the largest and most respected intramural systems in the country. And that tradition lives on today.
“Intramural champion T-shirts are only given to the champions and are exclusive to them,” said Ruchelle Dunwoody, the director of intramurals at Miami University. “At the end of championship night, if students haven't seen the shirt, they are really excited to see the design. Their reactions to the shirts is pretty cool and one of my favorite moments.”