Intramural Fite Nite
If you were one of the lucky 6,000 spectators to find a seat in Gregory Gym for the inaugural Fite Nite, you were not disappointed. With the formal dedication and opening of Gregory Gymnasium on April 12, 1930, Director Berry Whitaker’s brainchild was launched the following spring. Fite Nite, as Whitaker called it, presented a program of varied sports. The night’s festivities started with the Class A basketball championship game followed by table tennis and fencing finals on the main floor and volleyball on the stage. The much-anticipated wrestling and boxing finals were then held with the ring and mat laid out on the basketball floor. Intramural champions, including fall champions in all other sports, were recognized and received their gold or silver intramural medal from invited UT faculty and, occasionally, even the president of the University.
Fite Nite Surges in Popularity
By 1934 Fite Nite had become such a city-wide phenomenon that a new ticketing system had to be designed to manage the growing attendance. UT students, faculty, staff, and state officials were given first priority for tickets and any remaining tickets were distributed to Austin residents through the local Chamber of Commerce. Also, in response to the standing room only crowds, bleachers were erected and chairs added to the gym floor. Many times the Governor of Texas could be spotted in the front row enjoying the competition.
Fite Nite Becomes Sports Nite
After a 20-year run, the eventual demise of this historic event was determined with the elimination of boxing as an intramural sport. As the minutes of the Faculty Committee’s December 20, 1951 meeting stated: “After a rather lengthy discussion on boxing and the large number of deaths in this activity, a motion was passed to discontinue boxing as an intramural sport. It was also decided to change the name of Fite Nite to Sports Nite and that Mr. Whitaker be given the authority to invite more visiting teams to participate with our sport clubs for a one year trial.”
The Daily Texan reported on March 23, 1952: “Insects with their hundred-eye vision would be well-adapted for spectator roles at “Sports Nite” which begins at 7:00 o’clock tonight in Gregory Gym.” Described as a six-ring circus, the evening started with the traditional Class A championship basketball game between two intramural teams, the Baptist Student University and Blomquist Swedes. During halftime intermission, two teams composed of “the best mullets in ‘Mural (intramural) basketball,” as reported by The Daily Texan, played a madcap game more entertaining than inspiring. (A mullet is a player who did not make either the A or B team for his organization.) Following basketball, the five remaining events proceeded simultaneously. These events included a gymnastics competition between UT and the Dallas Athletic Club, table tennis finals, a wrestling competition between UT and Texas A&M University, and volleyball between UT and Baylor University.
The Final Sports Nite
During the 1952–53 Sports Nite, Baylor University competed with the UT Club Volleyball Team, Mississippi competed against the UT Gymnastics Team and Texas A&M University took on the UT Wrestling Team. In addition, All-University winners were determined in Class A basketball, table tennis singles and table tennis doubles. Two all-star mullet basketball teams also played before the moderate crowd. With boxing no longer the draw, Sports Nite was dropped from the intramural calendar of events marking the end of one of the most unique and successful intramural events conducted on the UT campus.