University of Michigan. Dept. of Recreational Sports.

The Department of Recreational Sports traces its origins to the appointment of a director of intramural sports in 1913. The function of the department is to coordinate and promote participation in intramural, club and recreational sports among the student body, faculty and staff of the University of Michigan and to manage athletic facilities.

Before 1913 there was no central organization to promote sports for the general student body. Athletic contests among students date back at least to the 1860s. The Pioneer Cricket Club, formed in 1862, was the first formally organized athletic team. More or less organized competitions developed between teams representing classes, schools or departments in football, baseball, track and basketball, and other sports. In the 1880s and 1890s the student controlled Athletic Association of the University sponsored an annual "field day" featuring both individual and team events. The Athletic Association controlled the principal athletic fields used in intercollegiate competitions and permitted them to be used for intramural sports.

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