Intramural Sport Policies

The development of sportsmanlike behavior is one of the major goals of the intramural sports program. The team captain is responsible for the conduct of his/her players, whereas the team is responsible for their own actions and of spectators associated with the team. The conduct of players and spectators before and after the game is just as important as the conduct during the game. Any person, who commits, attempts to commit, incites, or aids others in committing the following acts of misconduct shall be subjected to disciplinary action. Severe cases of misconduct as determined by Intramural Staff will be referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee for possible University action.

1. Disrespect toward officials and/or staff may result in ejection from the game, which carries a one game suspension thereafter, or disqualification from league play. The ejection of a team will result in forfeit and probation.
2. Shoving, striking, pushing, or grabbing an official will result in immediate suspension from all recreational events for a one-year minimum. This includes an attempt to strike. Depending on the severity of the incident, an individual may be referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee for University action.
3. Becoming involved in a fight will result in suspension from league play. Depending on the severity of the incident, an individual may be referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee for University action.
4. Any individual that is anyway under the influence of alcohol or other substance will not be considered eligible to play and may be referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee for University action.
5. Any team or person that willfully destroys or damages equipment shall assume responsibility of replacing the item and be subject to suspension.
6. Any violation of University policies as outlined in the student handbook (Seaver College, Caruso School of Law, School of Public Policy, Graduate School of Education and Psychology and Graziadio Business School) may result in suspension from play and an individual may be referred to the Dean of Student Affairs for University action.
7. Verbal abuse of any kind, towards officials, supervisors, intramural staff or other players will not be tolerated and will result in suspension.
8. A team or individual will be suspended indefinitely from intramural sports for lying, cheating, and/or unsportsmanlike conduct.
9. A participant who falsifies or deletes pertinent information on an acknowledgment and release form, team roster, or team score-sheet will be suspended from play.

A participant suspended from participation is ineligible to take part in intramural sports for the period of the suspension. The team captain will be held responsible for any of the team's suspensions and if a suspended player does play, all games in which the player participated or attempted to participate in will be considered a forfeit. Any individual that is suspended must leave the facility immediately. This is the captain's responsibility; failure to comply will result in a forfeit for the team. Any player ejected from an intramural program cannot participate in further competition until the disciplinary action is resolved. It is the players responsibility to set up a meeting with the Coordinator of Recreational Sports for reinstatement.

Sportsmanship Philosophy

The backbone of quality competition is a healthy respect for one’s self, teammates, opponents, and officials. Without this respect, the enjoyment of competition erodes for everyone. With this in mind, our goal is to promote personal and team accountability for everyone involved in intramural sports.

Sportsmanship Mission

Pepperdine Campus Recreation and the Intramural Sports program are dedicated to promote positive sportsmanship among all participants. Through each contest, participants must portray fair play, respect for self, teammates, opponents, and intramural staff. Sportsmanship is about maintaining a level of graciousness in winning or losing. In order to encourage proper conduct during games, officials, managers, and administrative personnel will make decisions to warn, penalize and/or eject players, coaches, teams and/or spectators for poor sportsmanship. The decisions made by these individuals are final and the infractions will be reviewed by the Director of Campus Recreation and the Coordinator of Recreational Sports. All captains are responsible for the conduct of their teams and fans during an intramural contest. The sportsmanship rating can be affected by actions occurring before, during, or after a contest.

The 3 P’s of Poor Sportsmanship

If a negative action by a player or spectator meets one or more of the following criteria, it will likely result in in-game action from officials or staff:

1. Personal - A negative action is directed toward an individual or group of individuals.
2. Profane - A verbal action includes profanity, slurs, degrading remarks, etc.
3. Public - A negative action is demonstrative, loud, or apparent to surrounding bystanders.

View our full sportsmanship policy and how we score teams.

The online registration form constitutes the official team roster. The team captain may make changes to this roster during the regular season, up until the end of the third week of the regular season. After this time no changes to the team roster will be allowed. The team captain must add or delete names to the official roster 24 hours prior to the game in order for the individual to be eligible to participate in the contest. Participants may only play on one team per sport and are not permitted to transfer from one intramural team to another after his/her name appears on the score sheet or official team roster. Exceptions:

1. Members of a team which has either been dropped from competition without having played a game or has forfeited all prior games may move to another team roster
2. Participants who are listed on a team roster but have not played, or checked in with the team may move to another roster
3. A participant may play in multiple divisions of the same sport - see “League Eligibility” section for more info

All players are required to check-in with the Event Staff prior to the game in order to be eligible to participate. Players may only check-in for themselves and must present their Pepperdine University ID card. A clear and accurate picture of your Pepperdine ID card will suffice as well. Checking in under an assumed name will result in suspension of the individual and a team forfeit. If a player's name does not appear on the official team roster they will not be permitted to check-in for that team. All players who check-in are considered to have played in the game. A team must have the minimum number of players checked in by five minutes after the scheduled game time or the game will be declared a forfeit.

An intramural team or individual participant not ready to play at the scheduled location at five minutes past the scheduled game time shall automatically forfeit that contest. In the case of an unavoidable delay, starting time may be extended at the discretion of the Event Supervisor. The following will result in a forfeit:

1. Use of ineligible players
2. Failure to have the minimum number of players present and ready to begin a contest five minutes past the scheduled time
3. A team, individual participant or spectator exhibiting unsportsmanlike or disruptive conduct

All forfeits will be considered a played game. If a team forfeits* three games during regular season play, the team will be dropped from the league and lose their full deposit (the first forfeit will result in a $25 deduction from the team deposit, the second forfeit will result in an additional $50 deduction, and the third forfeit will result in the remaining $75 deduction.)

*Any team unable to attend a scheduled contest should notify the coordinator of recreational sports at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled game to prevent a fine. If done so, the team will receive a loss instead of a forfeit and avoid that associated fine amount for that game. It is recommended to email our staff so as to have proof of notice via a timestamped digital record.

Teams are permitted one challenge per game. If in the team captain's opinion an error was made, he/she must, before the game continues, notify the official in a sportsmanlike manner that he/she is challenging a call or rule interpretation. There shall be no challenges allowed on judgment calls or the game score. A challenge may not be accepted after another play has occurred. The official shall stop the game and summon a supervisor. The officials and the supervisor shall decide on a ruling and the teams will play by that rule. If the original ruling is upheld, the team will be charged with a time out. In resolving a challenge, first a decision is made concerning whether an error was made and secondly if that error had an effect on the outcome of the game.

League schedules for the regular season are emailed to the entire league after the pre-season concludes and at least two (2) working days before the first regular season game. The team captain is responsible for notifying team members of all contests throughout the season although a weekly reminder will be sent out. League schedules can also be viewed on the Campus Recreation Intramurals website. Scheduling for league play is organized in a round robin format, with each team scheduled to play in an equal number of competitions. Depending on the number of teams in the league, teams are not guaranteed to play every other team nor make the playoffs.

Most intramural sports end in a playoff tournament. Tournaments are either single or double elimination depending on the number of teams participating and the availability of facilities. In order for an individual to be eligible for playoff competition, he/she must be listed on the official team roster used during league play and have played in at least two (2) games during the regular season. A regular season forfeit will be considered a played game and all players listed on the roster will be considered to have been present at the contest. The playoff schedule for all leagues will be based on the final rankings of the teams, determined by a point system. Once the playoff tournament schedule is posted, games cannot be postponed or changed. The intramural staff reserves the right to make changes to the tournament schedule due to inclement weather and/or facility availability.

Most non-league events occur in the form of single-day tournaments. Tournaments typically consist of both pool & bracket play and are either single or double elimination depending on the number of teams participating and the availability of facilities. In order for an individual to be eligible for bracket play competition, he/she must be listed on the official team roster used during pool play and have played in at least one (1) game during pool play. A pool play forfeit will be considered a played game and all players listed on the roster will be considered to have been present at the contest. Once pool play begins, players are not eligible to switch teams for any reasons. The bracket-play schedule for all tournaments will be based on the final rankings of the teams in pool play, determined by a point system. Once the bracket-play schedule is posted, games cannot be postponed or changed. The intramural staff reserves the right to make changes to the tournament schedule due to inclement weather or facility availability.

Some Intramural Sports offer multiple leagues within that sport in the same season such as our Indoor Volleyball and Basketball leagues. Please see the approved league participation possibilities:

• Volleyball:
  • Players are eligible to play in one of the Advanced League or the Beginner’s League - NOT both.
• Basketball:
  • Players can participate in two (2) of the three (3) Intramural Basketball leagues as follows:
    • A & C League
    • B & C League
  • Players may NOT participate in both the A & B leagues in the same season

All current Pepperdine University students, part-time students, graduate students, dependents, faculty, and staff are eligible to participate in Intramural Sport activities/events/leagues provided that the individual is not under disciplinary penalty prohibiting participation, and are ruled eligible under all other rules. Alumni are not eligible to participate in any intramural sports - no exceptions. Participants must complete an Acknowledgement and Release form, sign the Sportsmanship Policy and be listed on the official online team roster. Each participant is responsible for his/her own eligibility status, but the team captain should confirm the eligibility of the players. The intramural staff has the authority to rule on a player's eligibility status whenever it becomes aware of an alleged infraction. The Recreation Sports Coordinator will hear individual cases regarding eligibility.

A group is eligible to participate in intramural sports if:

1. Membership complies with the policies and procedures as outlined in the Pepperdine Student Handbook
2. Membership is not under disciplinary penalty prohibiting participation

Club sport members are eligible to participate in the intramural program of that sport, but shall be restricted to three (3) club members of that sport per team. Club sport members must compete in the highest competitive skill division. Any individual, who practices with a club for a period of two weeks, participates in any tournament or pays dues to a sport club, shall be considered a member of the sport club for that year. Players are considered members for one calendar year following the end of that club's competitive season.

Members of intercollegiate teams are ineligible to participate on an intramural team in their intercollegiate sport for one calendar year following the end of that intercollegiate sport season. An intercollegiate team member is an individual who participates in an intercollegiate contest, attends regular practices for a period of two weeks or longer, or appears on the team's official roster. Intercollegiate team members are eligible to participate in intramural sports other than their intercollegiate sport with written permission from their coach.

Individuals classified as red shirts, or those training with a varsity team shall be treated as an intercollegiate team member. A red shirt athlete or player working out with a team for more than two weeks will be considered an intercollegiate athlete for the entire season.

Former intercollegiate team members, whose status has changed as a result of completing the one calendar year ineligibility period, may participate in the Campus Recreation program of their former intercollegiate sport. Limits of two (2) former intercollegiate team members are allowed on an Intramural team. This rule does not apply to former intercollegiate team members who have been inactive for three years.

Professional athletes or former professional athletes are eligible to participate in Campus Recreation programs, but only in sports other than the pro sport which they played professionally. Teams will be limited to one (1) per team, regardless of how many years it has been since they last played professionally. Any teams having a professional athlete are limited to one (1) former intercollegiate athlete.

Questions of eligibility raised before a game will be brought to the supervising staff member. If eligibility status cannot be determined at the game site or if a team becomes aware of an eligibility infraction after the game in which the player in question competed, an official protest regarding that player's eligibility status must be filed in the Campus Recreation office. If the eligibility of a player cannot be determined before the game, the game must still be played as scheduled. If the player in question participates in the game and is later ruled to be ineligible, the game will be declared a forfeit, regardless of the outcome. During play-offs, protests regarding a player's eligibility must be made to the Event Supervisor before leaving the game site and an official protest must be submitted by 10:00am the next business day in the Campus Recreation office. Protests made after this time will be invalid.

Any team playing with an ineligible player shall be credited with a forfeit for each game in which that player participated. The captain of the offending team will receive a written warning from the Coordinator of Intramural and Club Sports. Should the team be involved in additional eligibility infractions, further disciplinary action will result. Any player signing in under an assumed name will be referred to the Coordinator of Intramural and Club Sports for disciplinary action and the game in which he/she participated or attempted to participate will be forfeited. Any player who participates as a member of two teams of the same sport within the same division shall be declared ineligible for the remainder of the season and subject to suspension.