Motivation of participants in recreational activities has been studied by several researchers (e.g., Milne & McDonald, 1998). Individuals' participation in recreational activities could be attributed to different motives such as health, education, socialization, excellence, and entertainment (e.g., Greenwell, 2002). However, what are the main incentives given by recreational management of universities to attract their customers (students)? What are the motives driving college students to participate in the intramural sports? There is dearth of study examining particular reasons of individuals using recreational facility on university campuses. The purpose of this study was to explore major motivational components of facility users at a large educational institution (students around 30,000). After approval obtained from the institutional review board, a survey was administered to determine the motives of users utilizing campus recreational facilities. The participants were randomly selected and a total of 289 (women = 129, men = 159) voluntary participates took part in the survey. A questionnaire containing eight motives associated with a 5-point Likert scale (5 = most important, 1 = least important) was used as the instrument. One-way ANOVAs were utilized to analyze data and revealed a significant (F = 4.395, p < .05) mean difference on ‘Pursuit of Excellence' between the female and male participants. Men (M = 3.38) scored higher than women (M = 2.10) on ‘Pursuit of Excellence'. The finding provided quantitative data from educational setting to support the theoretical framework in that pursuing excellence is a primary motive for young men to participant in intramural sports and to maximize utility of recreational facilities. The researchers recommended that creating more suitable programs (e.g., new equipments, additional events) to meet needs of female participants should be considered by the recreational directors of educational institutions.