By Stephanie Starks | Staff Writer, Rylie Painter | LTVN Sports Broadcast Reporter
After nearly two decades, Baylor’s Freshman League is returning this fall, giving first-year students a new way to participate in intramurals and make friends, stay active and build community outside the classroom.
The Freshman League is an intramural program designed specifically for freshmen. Campus Recreation brought the program back for fall 2026 after it was discontinued just under 20 years ago due to lack of structure.
LTVN’s Rylie Painter has more.
Baylor’s intramural sports program began in 1924, when they were created to discover talent for Baylor’s athletic programs and strengthen campus spirit. Today, about 5,000 undergraduate students participate in intramurals, President Linda Livingstone said.
She also said data shows that students involved in intramural sports remain at Baylor the following year.
“The data that Dr. [Sharra] Hynes shared last year to the President’s Council was that 100% of our students that participate in intramurals retain,” Livingstone told The Lariat.
Dr. Kim Scott, senior director of Campus Recreation, said the Freshman League is intended to help students make connections early in their college experience.
“[Intramurals] are a John Wooden tradition; he was a legendary basketball coach at UCLA that made every incoming guy play on the freshman team,” Scott said. “One of the things about freshmen is they come here, and make connections, but we start life here so fast they have not made connections. [Campus Recreation] wants to help.”
Freshmen will have an additional two weeks to participate in the Freshman League before other intramural programs begin, giving them more time to meet classmates and get comfortable with the program.
“[Freshmen] will have a better understanding of who is sitting next to them in class,” Scott said. “They may not know that much about them, but they have an opportunity to be better acquainted with other freshmen. We do not want them to miss out on these connections that happen in their very first few weeks at Baylor.”
Scott said she hopes freshmen will view the league as an opportunity to have fun while building relationships.
“Freshmen need to get involved,” Scott said. “There’s more fun, and [these students] will make so many memories. They can also grow in a fun and healthy way.”
Eric Levingston, senior coordinator of The Freshman League at Campus Recreation, said the program is designed to create a shared experience for students who are adjusting to college at the same time.
“Freshmen can empower their classmates because they are all in this together,” Levingston said. “They will become better people who value building community with other Bears.”
Levingston was a college athlete at Grambling State University before joining Campus Recreation. He said an injury during his college athletic career led him to discover intramurals as a different way to stay connected to campus.
“I got injured while playing and I went into a deep depression; I needed a way out,” Levingston said. “Intramurals led me back to my purpose at college. I want to grow The Freshman League to work with young adults through their time in college.”
Lewisville second-year Kendall Petteway, a Master of Divinity student at Truett Seminary and graduate assistant for intramural sports, said the program gives students a chance to step away from their academic routines.
“The whole reason we exist is to give students a fun time away from campus,” Petteway said.
Petteway said Campus Recreation is working to make the Freshman League accessible and structured so students can focus on building relationships.
“One way [Campus Recreation] plans to assist The Freshman League is by creating a space where they can create those relationships without any issues,” said Petteway. “Our referees and intramural supervisors are all certified to make The Freshman League structured so that players can focus on having a good time with their friends.”
Petteway said he has continued working with intramurals because he has seen how sports can bring students together.
“I wanted to continue assisting with Intramurals because I liked seeing the impact [students] have on others and how this shared love has brought people together,” he said.
For some freshmen, the return of the Freshman League offers a chance to build those relationships from the start of their Baylor experience.
Sugarland freshman Iliana Hernandez has been considering joining intramurals to engage with other freshmen in an “easygoing environment.”
“I want to have fun times with my classmates,” Hernandez said. “I would like to build friendships and have lasting memories.”
Vancouver, Washington, freshman Jack Fisher has always had a “love for sports”.
“[The Freshman League] is a great opportunity to continue some of the same sports and learn some new ones,” Fisher said. “I am really looking forward to playing sports with my friends and other freshmen who are interested in Intramurals.”
