Alumni and Friends Making an Impact

In blistering heat, pouring rain, freezing cold and blowing snow – and sometimes a combination of those extremes – Erin Mingus ’25 found her community.

Mingus fondly recalled how she and her teammates always showed up at Stuart Field, no matter the weather, to have the chance to play sports, any sport. Sure, the coveted intramural championship T-shirts were on the line, but spending time with each other was the real prize.

As a player, referee and a program assistant at the University of Dayton RecPlex, Mingus was on the field almost daily while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in management. Competition had always been part of her life growing up with three older brothers and playing varsity sports at St. Joseph Academy in Cleveland, so joining intramural teams at UD felt like a natural next step.

Participating in intramural sports offered other opportunities that would shape Mingus’ years at UD. She made friends she wouldn’t have met otherwise, improved her physical and mental wellbeing and even found a job. Mingus started working as a referee in her first year on campus, began supervising competitive sports as a sophomore and served as a program assistant during her junior and senior years.  

"I truly found some of my best friends through intramural sports, and I received great work-related experiences that prepared me for the future." — Erin Mingus ’25

“The best part of UD was my job,” Mingus said. “I truly found some of my best friends through intramural sports, and I received great work-related experiences that prepared me for the future.”

Her hard work on and off the field didn’t go unnoticed. Mingus was one of five students to earn a UD student employee of the year honor in 2025, and she was also named a regional student employee of the year by the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators.

Her supervisor, Michael Thomas, noted in his nomination that students who participate in intramural sports cited positive outcomes such as friendship, fun, stress relief, competition and leadership opportunities – all part of overall health and wellbeing. In 2026, UD will expand its commitment to student physical and mental health with the opening of a new 34,200-square-foot health and wellbeing center, which will include new spaces for the student health center and counseling center and enhancements to RecPlex.

Although Mingus graduated in May, she’s happy future students will get more chances to experience the physical and mental benefits that came from RecPlex programming and made her UD experience one she’ll always cherish.

“It’s fantastic that both facilities will be used by more people and more often, and I’m excited to go back and visit the new facility when it opens,” Mingus said. “It’s been fun to be part of promoting physical and mental health at UD, and help share all the resources UD has available to support health and wellbeing.”

Mingus played sand volleyball, pickleball, softball, basketball, kickball, wiffleball, soccer and flag football, and officiated many more games. Thomas praised Mingus for not only being a dedicated official and program assistant for the more than 3,900 students who play intramural sports each year, but also for mentoring other student employees.

“Erin was exceptional at motivating and inspiring her peers through a combination of encouragement, enthusiasm and trust-building,” Thomas said. “She is known for her ability to lead by example, consistently going above and beyond her job responsibilities, and in doing so, sets a standard for others to follow. Erin has a genuine care for the success of the program and for the people within it.”