The regular season has come to end and, this year, the playoffs for intramural basketball at Southeast Missouri State University will be unprecedented. Before, the Greek teams would have the playoffs only with other Greek teams, and the non-Greek teams would have playoffs with other non-Greek teams. This year a combination of both non-Greek and Greek teams will compete in the playoffs together. This change is not just for the men's league, but for the co-ed division as well.

Club and intramural coordinator, Kweku Arkorful, came up with this idea and dubbed it Southeast's own "March Madness."

"We all see the March Madness and everything with college basketball and we're mixing it up," Arkorful said. "It's a chance for the Greeks to play the non-Greeks."

Before this season, both Greek and non-Greek divisions would have separate playoffs. By combining both divisions for the playoffs, the teams are allowed to play each other and compete to be the best overall team in intramural basketball.

Arkorful said he would want to add an extra incentive with this new playoff format and reward the winning team by showing them they are the best intramural basketball team at Southeast.

"It's the best of the best," Arkorful said. "My goal is to get some type of an award since it's the best of the best, a championship trophy or something to add on with the shirts."

The change to the playoff format comes with plenty of other changes Arkorful made in his first semester as the coordinator. He's added music and announcers to the games, as well as having more experienced officials. Alexis Ray, who works in the rec services office, likes the new atmosphere this year.

"It makes the environment a lot more fun," Ray said.

Ray talked about the teams also are ready for this change as well. Players will be able to prove themselves to not only the division they are in, but also to the teams that aren't. Ray, who competes in the co-ed division, is ready to prove herself against the Greek teams in the playoffs.

"The Greeks usually have a lot more competition," Ray said. "They're usually pretty good when they play basketball. It makes things more interesting and more competitive."

The tournament began Sunday and will continue after spring break with the final rounds and championship game.