Southeast Missouri State has hired a new coordinator for club and intramural sports. Kweku Arkorful was hired Feb. 1 and has begun his duties as the new coordinator. Arkorful graduated from Southeast in 2012, played football and was part of the Ohio Valley Conference championship team in 2010 as a defensive back.

Arkorful filled the vacant spot that had been available since the end of last semester. He's excited to get to work and is determined to make changes, especially at the intramural level.

"Some people wake up in the morning and drag themselves out of bed," Arkorful said. "I bounce up."

Arkorful said he is the fun guy, and that he will walk around campus and just get high fives from the students as he walks by, something he believes is key to success being the coordinator.

Arkorful is excited for this opportunity and feels like he is the perfect fit for this job.

"I just have passion for other people," Arkorful said. "I love to serve other people and it just pours out of me."

Arkorful quickly began working since being hired. Registration had been going on for weeks before Arkorful was hired, and he accepted the challenge. One of his main focuses early on will be to improve intramural and club sports.

"My main focus is to build intramural sports into a place where it has been declining," Arkorful said. "A lot of people haven't been as interested."

A goal for Arkorful is to bring the spotlight back onto intramural and club sports. Since Arkorful was hired, he has been bouncing ideas, some small and some big, off of his coworkers on how to make intramural and club sports better. Specifically, Arkorful has stated that he wants to bring a PA announcer and music to basketball to draw some more interest and to make the atmosphere more fun.

"I feel like the students have been desensitized because they have been told 'no' so much," Arkorful said. "My goal is to bring that 'Why not?' mentality."

Arkorful also wants to put up pictures of each club sport's president. The rugby team, which won a state championship, has its picture hung just outside of Arkorful's office. He likes the idea of having the team photos out in the open to attract people to a variety of club sports.

"People walking past can say, 'Hey, I want to do judo.'" Arkorful said.

Kevin Francis, the graduate assistant who had been assuming the role while the coordinator spot was vacant, is thankful the spot has been filled.

"He's taken a lot weight off my shoulders that I've been bearing the last couple of weeks," Francis said.

Francis and Arkorful have known each other for a few years and look to build on that friendship to improve on a good relationship to help make intramurals better.

"We've known each other for a couple of years," Francis said. "Not super closely though."

Arkorful wants to give students who aren't able to play collegiate sports the same attention that the student-athletes get to increase popularity and to bring intramural and club sports more to the forefront. Arkorful admitted it will take some time but it's one of the long-term goals for him.

Floor hockey, futsal and basketball registration have ended and the seasons will all begin on Feb. 9 and go until spring break.