The Interfraternity Council (IFC) recently made a decision that dramatically impacts the world of fraternity intramural sports.

The IFC voted to install a new Constitution, in which at least one major by-law was amended.

The old Constitution stated that in order for a member of a fraternity to participate in intramural sports, the student “must have a 2.0 or higher GPA and also have a 2.0 or higher GPA from the previous semester.”

However, it was agreed upon by previous IFC members that a cumulative 2.0 GPA or higher would be sufficient, regardless of the GPA of the previous semester. Anyone that had a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher could participate in intramural sports.

The current members of the IFC, voted 12-2 to reconsider the enforcement, or lack thereof, of the present rule. This vote, which took place on Sept. 2, meant that members of the IFC would have one week to ponder the amendment, and then cast their vote one way or the other.

The IFC then voted to enforce the rule, requiring all IFC members participating in Campus Recreation Sports at UTM to have both an overall 2.0 GPA and a 2.0 GPA from the previous semester. There was a motion on Sept. 16 to repeal the judgment, but the motion failed 8-6.

“The argument for the by-law is that we, as Greeks, should set high standards for the rest of the campus. The IFC felt that this rule change would be beneficial to the campus as a whole,” said Matt Sturdivant, an IFC member from Bruceton. “Even though I personally don’t agree with the new rule, I do understand the reasoning behind it. I just wish the timing would have been better.”

The IFC’s ruling came right in the middle of intramural soccer season. This had a dramatic impact on several of the top teams by suddenly making many of the team’s key players, who had played throughout the entire season, ineligible to play because of grades. While some teams suffered more than others, every fraternity felt the impact of this decision in some way or another.

“The rule change came as a shock to everyone involved in intramural sports,” said Will Cherry, a senior business management major from Franklin.

“It ruined teams’ chemistry because it forced teams that had been playing together for years to suddenly try to find other players to fill in for the experienced players that were lost to the rule change. The IFC should have either made the rule change before intramurals got started, or they should have waited until the end of the semester. The timing couldn’t have been any worse.”