NIRSA's Rich History

NIRSA's Founders
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NIRSA is extremely proud of its long history and its many accomplishments.

The stage was set in 1950 by Dr. William N. Wasson, who organized a meeting of 22 African-American men and women intramural directors from 11 Historically Black Colleges (Albany State College, Arkansas A&M College, Bethune-Cookman College, Dillard University, North Carolina College, Southern University, Texas Southern University, Tillotson College, Tuskegee Institute, Wiley College, and Xavier University) at the first Intramural Conference at Dillard University in New Orleans. Participants at the conference formed the National Intramural Association.

Since then, NIRSA (NIA's successor) has experienced phenomenal growth. NIRSA's nearly 4,000 members are represented on more than 700 campus and universities, as well as on U.S. military installations, in public park and recreation departments, correctional facilities, not-for-profit organizations, and private enterprise.

The field of recreational sports and participation in sports and fitness activities has also grown tremendously:

• Nearly 11 million college students use recreational facilities operated by NIRSA's members.
• More than 1.1 million intramural contests are scheduled each year.
• More than two million individuals participate in collegiate sport clubs.
• More than $1.5 billion has recently been expended (or is approved to be spent) to renovate or build new "state-of-the-art" collegiate recreational sports facilities.