I did not know what Unified Sports was when I first came to University of Oregon four years ago, but I knew of it. I had a friend encourage me to play last year, but during the craziness of my schedule, I decided against it, and I wish I had chosen otherwise. 

Special Olympics defines Unified Sports as a program that “joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.” 

Special Olympics led the way for Unified Sports, and now there are more than 10,800 Unified Champion Schools across the country.

Here at UO, students, faculty and staff compete on intramural teams with Special Olympic athletes from the Eugene and Springfield communities for flag football, basketball and soccer. 

In the program, individuals with intellectual disabilities are known as the athletes, and students without, are called partners. 

I participated in Unified basketball this winter and loved the experience so much that I decided to play Unified soccer this spring term, despite not playing organized soccer since I was eight. 

I spoke with Sean Graninger, assistant director for intramural sports and youth camps who forged the path for Unified Sports here at UO. 

“Across the country, there are approximately 100 schools that are running some kind of unified programming on their campus, but it can look different on different campuses. A lot of them are doing what we’re doing, where it’s run through the intramural program,” Graninger said. “Some are running them as a student-run organization, more like a club. Some are doing one-day tournaments, one-day events, partnering with local special Olympic programs, so it is different across the country.” 

Graninger went to graduate school at Central Michigan University, which also happened to be where the Special Olympics Michigan office was located and which had its own Unified Champion Schools program.   

Then, Graninger came to work at UO in 2016, and it only took him two years to begin a Unified program in 2018. 

Graninger wants to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities know they can still play sports and stay active through programs such as these. UO has a program for them, even if they aren’t students. 

“Give it a try at least once while you’re here at the U of O,” Graninger said. “It is a fun, encouraging environment. No one is going to belittle you, and everyone is out there to have a good time. It is competitive, but we welcome all skill levels. Not only do you get to meet a lot of Special Olympic athletes, but you also get to meet other students. You get on a team, and you build connections.”

He also added that if people want to work in social work or special education, this is an ideal opportunity to get real-world experience with those populations. 

When I eventually decided to play Unified Sports, I was on a team with strangers, but we soon became fast friends. 

Everyone I met was so welcoming; the athletes were eager to meet us and the students were equally excited as well. It was a balance of making connections, meeting each other’s needs and supporting a competitive atmosphere while also ensuring people had equal playing time, an opportunity to score and got to experience those buzzer-beater moments. 

I bonded quickly with my teammates, and we eventually went on to win the Unified IM championship. 

Recently, our Unified basketball team took on nationals in Madison, Wisconsin to defend their championship title from the 2024 season. They fell short this year, but we’re proud of them and eager to see them come back next year. 

I will be playing unified soccer this term, and I urge anyone who is interested to play. If you have doubts, just try it once. The only regret I have is not doing it sooner.