Courtland Barnett ’26: Breaking Records

When the final whistle blows in an intramural sports championship, the winning team is awarded a t-shirt, a token of their hard work and dedication throughout the season. Aggies may collect a few during their time at Texas A&M. Courtland Barnett ’26, however, has accumulated enough to fill a closet.

Over the course of his five years at Texas A&M, Barnett completed an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Finance. During this time, Barnett played 398 games and won 279 of them, dethroning Gareth Couples ’22 with 180 wins as the all time record holder for intramural wins. His intramural journey began in his first semester at Texas A&M back in fall 2021, joining the Freshman Leadership Organizations called Freshmen Exemplifying Aggie Spirit Together, or FEAST.

“I met amazing people through that organization,” Barnett said. “But most importantly, it was a kickstart to my intramural saga here at Texas A&M I’ve been playing 50 games a semester on average for the last five years, and have met a ton of people along the way, and had a great time playing and finishing out all the championships I’ve won.”

Playing an average of 50 games each semester required more than just competing; it required time, commitment and sacrifices, sometimes having to miss hangouts with his friends and girlfriend in order to play a pivotal game.

“Some of these sports are going on for at least an hour a night,” said Kaulin Andric, senior assistant director of Intramural Sports. “When I think of somebody who’s won 279 games for us, I think it’s somebody who eats, sleeps and breathes intramural sports. I know what goes into it on the back end of this. And for somebody to play in that amount of games, takes a lot of time and effort.”

From the moment Barnett wakes up to the moment he plays in the courts, he is constantly checking the Intramural Leagues app and coordinating with his team members to make sure the team has enough eligible players. Building a network of relationships became just as important as his time on the court.

“A lot of people just think that all of this antics happens on the court when I’m playing the game,” Barnett said. “A lot of it’s behind the scenes on networking and getting the best possible talent onto my team. Every single time I step on the court, I talk to my people to make sure all of us are having a good time, because the number one rule of intramurals is not to win, it’s to have fun. If you have fun, winning usually comes alongside you.”

Over the years, Barnett competed in nearly every sport intramurals offered, from volleyball to cornhole. But among all the games and championships, one sport stood above the rest for him.

“If I had to pick one, battleship would by far be my favorite,” Barnett said. “My favorite intramural memory at Texas A&M is playing with my roommates, and after five hard fought seasons of coming up short every single time, we finally won our intramural t-shirt in battleship, and it was probably my top three, if not my favorite memory from college.”

While balancing two degrees and intramurals was a big time commitment, participating in sports played a pivotal role in his time at Texas A&M, giving him lasting memories as his time at university comes to a close.

“I have a lot to be grateful for,” Barnett said. “The main thing though is the people that helped me get to where I am today. All my teammates, all of the people I played against, all of the refs, all of the supervisors, have been absolutely fundamental.”

Although the record is measured in wins, Andric believes Barnett’s accomplishment represents something much larger than just a title — it represents cultivating life skills.

“For somebody to come in and play intramural sports, it goes back to kind of where we were as kids,” Andric said. “We’re playing sports. We’re learning how to communicate. We’re learning how to lead a team. We’re learning how to do all of these things. And so there’s life skills that are involved when somebody comes out for an hour and plays intramural sports. And for Courtland [Barnett] coming out and playing 300 and some odd games, he’s learning those life skills as he’s playing.”

After graduating in spring, Barnett is ready to move on to the next phase of his life. While he celebrates his new title, he hopes future Aggies view the achievement not as an untouchable milestone, but as a challenge.

“I think the legacy I want to leave is as a guy who knew what he wanted to accomplish, and ended up getting there,” Barnett said. “[I] want to encourage everyone else behind me to fight for what you believe in and get to where you want to go in life. I’ve been chasing this record, and I sit here now, ready to graduate, begging the next person to do the exact same. I want my record broken, and I want it done right. So please, I encourage all challengers to come after the record.”