Starting Sunday, spring intramural sports began closing up for the end of the semester, just like spring classes.
Except it's not tests and projects due for the end of intramural sports, but the final soccer and softball playoffs.
With names like "Cheezeballs," "Drug Dealer" and "Abusement Park," teams fight for the chance to become intramural champions at Auburn.
After the regular season of five or six games, teams are ranked and placed into an initial four-team bracket.
The playoff system depends on which league and category a team belongs to, and a team's record is not all that counts in the playoffs.
Referees assign a point value to each team's sportsmanship during each game, on a scale of one to five.
At the end of the regular season, the average of this sportsmanship score is coupled with a team's win-loss record to see if they made it to the playoffs.
The sportsmanship points average is also used as a tiebreaker for teams that end the regular season with the same record.
The last round of the playoffs will be held tonight.
Winning teams receive T-shirts and a trophy, not to mention bragging rights.
Brett North, senior in civil engineering, is the captain of the undefeated softball team "Cheezeballs."
Without regular practice, North said the thing he likes about softball is the competition, that he can compete in a way he hasn't since high school.
Another softball team that made the playoffs are the "Toon Squad," which is mostly made up of members of Lakeview Baptist Church.
Nathan Douthit is a member of "Toon Squad" and said the most important thing for him is the chance to spread the gospel after the game.
"The most important thing for us is telling people about Jesus," Douthit said.
Fraternities are consistently well-represented in softball playoffs. This year Farmhouse, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Alpha and Theta Chi made it to the quarterfinals.
"I like the competitiveness and playing against other fraternities," said Chris Cooper, senior in mechanical engineering and member of the Pi Kappa Alpha team.
This year is Cooper's fourth year to make it to the playoffs, but he has never won first place.
He said this year, if he does, "I guess we'll throw a party."
But fraternities and independent groups of guys aren't the only ones who shine at the softball playoffs.
A few fields down from where the fraternities played was Brittany Goodwin, senior in political science, and pitcher for the Auburn Christian Student Center's softball team.
She feels little fear about her team's chances in the upcoming games, saying she thinks they could win it all.
Also playing in the women's division is the "Extras," an independent team, of which Alana Jones is a passionate member.
"I miss it a lot," said Jones, freshman in agricultural economics, "I guess you could just say I love the game."
Jones plays intramural softball because she truly enjoys the game and the competitive atmosphere, which she left behind after high school.
Soccer playoffs are also underway at the Intramural fields, with the number of remaining teams quickly diminishing.
Tuesday night, the "Footballers" advanced to the finals in the co-recreational division, after defeating the "White Team."
"Everybody on our team's played club or high school," said Trent Cameron, junior in mechanical engineering, "We've been playing together since freshman year."
This is Cameron's third year playing intramural soccer, and he also participates in intramural basketball and softball.
"It's fun," Cameron said. "It's not too competitive, it releases tension and it gives me that little bit of exercise every week."
Also on the field Tuesday night was Brandon Van Pernis, junior in public administration, member of the co-recreational Auburn Christian Fellowship team.
His team made it to the playoffs without practicing even once, and he thinks they have a good shot to win the tournament.
"It just gives us the chance to run around and have some fun," Van Pernis said.
Just as softball isn't limited to fraternities, soccer isn't limited to simply undergrads.
"Psygo" is a team consisting of nearly all post-graduate psychology students whose name is taken from a play on the group Psychology Graduate Organization.
"It's all about having fun," said Adam Goodman, a graduate student in psychology and member of the team. "We just come out here and forget about projects, exams and research for an hour."
Goodman has confidence in his team.
"Yea, I'm going to wear that shirt for a week straight and never take it off," Goodman said.
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