NIRSA Championship Series Newsletter September 2023

NIRSA Champ Series bigger than us

WOW! It’s been five years since I last wrote one of these posts and, honestly, I did not expect to be writing another one. Yet here we are. A lot has changed since my first go around with the Series, and I’m extremely proud and excited about that. The abundance of new and diverse professionals has made serving as the chair an enjoyable experience thus far. In my last blog post back in June 2018, I mentioned how the way we did things then would not necessarily be what works in June 2019. This new version of the Series is the definition of that expected change. All the chairs and vice chairs have been great at driving conversation and creating and developing the ideas and structures that will help guide the Series this cycle.

While I did not envision guiding the Series once again, I was asked to step back in and help lead due to some departures. At first, I was a little hesitant due to all the other things I had going on, but then I realized that sometimes it’s not about me; if we have time to give, we should. It also came as a full circle moment for me because I was in the exact same situation some years back and Randall Ford answered my call at the time. While I may not be on the intramural sports or club sports side of campus recreation, being able to give back to a part of NIRSA that has impacted me and countless others has always been something I can’t say no to. There have been some changes within the Series, and I wanted to do my part to help transition those changes and provide support where needed. I find this term very different since I know what to expect and can pull on past experiences. In addition, I know I jumped back in for the right reasons and with a servant mindset to make sure I leave things better than when I inherited them.

To me, this simple concept—leaving things better than when you got them—should be a guiding principle to volunteering. We all have grand ideas and want to try and leave our own lasting legacies; however, if we focus on others and their experiences, we tend to end up at good places. I know this is not always easy and the little voice in your head is telling you to do things your way, but humility and a version of altruism must win out at the end of the day. I will not be able to say it enough, but I want to thank all the numerous chairs and work team members for all their work thus far and in the continued future. My fellow Executive Team—Kris Newsome, Stephanie Calhoun, Lauren Carlson, and Nicole Jackson—I appreciate you all and look forward to leading the Series with you all this year.

Work team chairs of the month: Max Miller and Jessica Cuadra

Max and Jessica have displayed excellent leadership and have maintained consistent communication—this includes sharing meeting notes and recordings with the Executive Team and Soccer Work Team members. Notably, Max has continued to help the Soccer Work Team even while he’s been on paternity leave and Jessica has done a great job of stepping up in his absence by handling various tasks and leading the team.

Upcoming tournaments

Flag football

• October 20–22
  • The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  • Indiana University
• November 3–5
  • Georgia Southern University
  • Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• November 10–12
  • University of Maryland
• December 1–3
  • University of Southern Mississippi

Soccer

• October 20–22
  • Region V: University of Northern Colorado
• October 27–29
  • Region I: Stony Brook University
  • Region II: Dory Park
  • Region III Men’s: Grand Park Events Center
  • Region III Women’s: Michigan State University
  • Region IV: Texas Tech
  • Region VI North: University of Oregon
  • Region VI South: Cal Poly SLO

Open applications

Find all applications on the Play Volunteers website!

Deadline: Wednesday, November 15

• National Flag Football Officials

Various closing times

• Regional Flag Football Officials

New things

NIRSA Championship Series Hall of Fame!

• Inductee nominations are now being accepted for soccer and flag football
• Submit a nomination form

NIRSA Championship Series Office Hours

Bring your questions about upcoming tournaments to an office hour! Fill out the question form to receive a Zoom link!

Soccer

• Monday, October 9 at 4:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Pacific
• Thursday, October 26 at 4:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Pacific

Flag football

• Thursday, November 9 at 4:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Pacific
• Thursday, November 30 at 4:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Pacific