This year, the University sent two men's basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament. As the champions of the University's three-on-three intramural men's basketball tournament, a team of four students traveled to Indianapolis to participate in a championship game of their own.
"Blunted", a team consisting of Trinity seniors Rob Venick, Shavar Jeffries and Blair Hines and Trinity junior Chip Maney, participated in a national intramural three-on-three competition. Teams from universities with NCAA basketball teams were invited to the tournament, which was sponsored by ESPN and Pizza Hut.
Like the varsity men's team, members of Blunted traveled to Indianapolis during the last weekend of spring break on the all-expense paid trip. After defeating an intramural team from Eastern Michigan University, the University squad advanced to the next level, beating a team from Colgate. Last weekend, members of Blunted flew to Lexington, Kentucky, to play in the "sweet sixteen" round of the competition. Despite its excellent record, Blunted had its winning streak end cut short by Evansville University by a score of 16-13.
The members of Blunted expressed enthusiasm about participating in the competition. "The championship was a great chance for us to represent the University, and it focused a lot of attention on intramural programs," said Venick, team captain.
Pizza Hut and ESPN contributed $1,000 to the University's athletic department because Blunted qualified for the competition and an additional $5,000 because the team made it to the sweet sixteen. This money will either be donated to fund intramural sports or provide additional support for a new gymnasium.
"The competition promotes intramural sports and is really good for the University," said Roy Skinner, director of intramural sports. "Blunted was an excellent intramural team, and we're really proud of them."
One of the members of Blunted said that he appreciated having the opportunity to see how his team measured up against intramural teams from other universities. "It was neat to test out our basketball skills and compare our intramural program to those of other schools in the nation," said Jeffries. "I'm just mad because we had no business losing."
Hines said he also enjoyed being able to experience parts of the country he had not seen before. "The tournament was a lot of fun and also really intense because the competition was so tough. It was neat getting to see what it would be like to be a varsity athlete and to be flown all around the country," said Hines.
Members of Blunted received special perks for participating in the competition. Duke University stores contributed uniforms for them to wear in the games, and all of their traveling and living expenses were covered by ESPN and Pizza Hut during the tournament.
In April, ESPN will show a 30-minute special about the intramural tournament in conjunction with the men's final four championship, which will be hosted by Dick Vitale.
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