Last Thursday, we were the first campus in the country to host a budgetball tournament. Budgetball is a game designed to educate students about the national debt and to help them begin to think and act differently when it comes to this growing national problem. The game was developed by the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington DC.

When I was approached about the game, I said sure. It sounded like an interesting concept. But we really didn't know how it would work. As the game was designed, we began to finally see it work. In essence, the game is like a combination of football and ultimate frisbee. There are 3, eight minute periods where teams through the ball to someone in the end zone for points. In between periods there are strategy sessions where teams figure out how much debt or savings they want to do to get advantages. For example, you could "pay extra" to add players in order to get additional goals. But after that session and to make sure your budget is balanced, during the next session you might elect to have players wear oven mitts or to hop up and down while trying to pass.

The competition was fierce! The first place team was going to win a trip to DC to compete in a national game against the University of Miami. In the end, I think the students really enjoyed the event. I think someone suggested it as an intramural activity.

Maybe...

The Prez