James Larson, Senior Photographer

Intramurals are back this year and ready for playoffs.

IMs serve as a way for students from all athletic backgrounds to compete on the same team and work together to win a variety of sports. This fall, IMs sports include spikeball, cornhole, table tennis, pickleball, flag football and soccer. Currently, Pauli Murray stands in first place overall with 189 points. 

Each college competes to win the Tyng Cup. Established in 1933, the Tyng Cup has been awarded annually to the team with the most points, and points are tallied by how many participants played for the winning team.

“IMs [have] been a way for most people to meet other people. For first years, [IMs are a way] to feel involved in the community,” Franklin IMs secretary Muyibolanle Aghedo ’25 said. “IMs is really about just getting to know beyond your own friend group, getting to know beyond your class.”

Multiple IMs secretaries echoed Aghedo’s statement. All of the five IM secretaries interviewed by the News noted that while winning is a great feeling, IMs’ real significance lies in their ability to connect students from all years and colleges.

Last year, Pauli Murray won their first ever Tyng Cup. Grayson Phillips ’25, Head IMs secretary and a Pauli Murray IMs secretary wrote that the college aims “to repeat as the Tyng Cup Champs.”

“Stiles IMs has had a pretty strong season this year,” Ezra Stiles IMs secretary Marcos Barrios ’24 said. “One of our biggest highlights was beating Morse in a triple defeat. We played Morse three times in one day and beat them each time.”

Last year, Morse was the flag football champion.

When it comes to individual sports, Davenport holds the lead in spikeball, Pauli Murray leads in table tennis, Timothy Dwight holds the lead in pickleball, Branford holds first in flag football and Morse leads in soccer. Cornhole standings are tied, with Branford, Pauli Murray and Timothy Dwight tied in first place.

“IMs have been going really well!” Kennedy Wolf ’25, one of Timothy Dwight’s IMs secretaries, wrote. “TD is currently in third place in the overall standings. A highlight for us is that we’re currently undefeated in pickleball!”

The residential college that wins the Tyng Cup receives a physical cup, and all winning participants also receive a championship shirt. 

Franklin remains the sole residential college without a Tyng Cup, but Franklin’s IMs secretaries are confident in their shots this year. 

“We have our eyes on the prize,” Ben Franklin IMs secretary Julian Suh-Toma ’25 said. “We’ve kind of had an unprecedented year so far where Franklin has never done this well.” 

Ben Franklin currently stands in second place overall, with 181.5 points.

“The importance of intramurals is that they foster bonding and spirit within our individual college communities,” Director of Undergraduate Intramurals Tom Migdalski wrote. “This allows for the development of friendly and spirited rivalries among Yale’s 14 undergraduate colleges. IMs allow opportunities for exercise, physical fitness and stress release to help soothe the academic pressures that occur at universities like Yale.”

The college with the most Tying Cups is Timothy Dwight with 14 wins.