Oozeball

^[1] OOzeball is an annual mud volleyball tournament, a tradition at many universities that originated at the University of Connecticut in 1984. OOzeball is volleyball played in 8 inches of mud and is often staged as a fundraising event.^[2] It is generally held during Spring Weekend, which is the weekend before the last week of class, although this has changed recently.

Today, OOzeball is organized by the Student Alumni Association, or SAA.

Players are forced by the mud to adapt a different style of play than other forms of volleyball, with more "leaning and lunging" as opposed to running in the deep mud. At UConn, each year over 1,000 players and spectators come out to watch the tournament. 2010 marked the 27th UConn OOzeball, making it the longest running tournament of its kind in the nation. OOzeball has also been recognized three times by Sports Illustrated:

• "Best Mud Volleyball in the Country" – SI Best of College Sports
• 33 on the "Top 100 Things Gotta Do Before You Graduate: No Matter The Cost" – SI On Campus
• "Best Use of Dirt" – SI On Campus ^[3]

Date Change

In 2011, in an effort to curb the Spring Weekend partying and violence, the University declared that all University-sanctioned events were to be held the weekend before the traditional date. Officially, this was in part due to a late Easter falling during the "real" Spring Weekend. However, temperature in the upper 30s forced the event to be cancelled early, with at least nine students experiencing hypothermia.^[4] The student body was displeased with the new date, and in recent years, the tournament has been moved back to Spring Weekend.

References

1. http://www.uconnalumni.com/oozeball
2. Big mud on campus Brian Rourke, The Providence Journal,May 1, 2004
3. The Best Of Everything Sports Illustrated April 28, 1997
4. "OozeBall Shut down After Third Round - Daily Campus". Retrieved 28 November 2011.