“A lot of houses specialize,” said Winthrop House IM co-coordinator Alana E. Murphy ’02. “Adams is known for its basketball, Kirkland for crew. But Cabot consistently fields decent teams in every sport. Kirkland has a huge turnout, with two or three teams for every sport. But it isn’t as consistent across the board.”

Cabot’s Straus Cup wins began with former tutor Billy Weitzel ’90, who revitalized IM life at Cabot. Weitzel has since left, but the tradition he created continues to flourish. Intramurals are widely viewed as the center of Cabot House life, House members said.

Wilson said Cabot has been able to build on past successes—both in winning and in creating a House community where IM sports are viewed as important.

“Part of it is that we’re quadded, and that gives us a greater sense of community than the River Houses,” Wilson said. “But also, no one wants to be part of the class that doesn’t win it. We faced more pressure this year, and it only brought more people out.”

Shih said Cabot IMs have added considerably to his time at college.

“It’s changed my House life experience a great deal and it provides a lot of continuity,” Shih said. “Setting a record sort of changes my perception of Harvard.”

Now that the record has been set, Cabot is left with a challenge for the upcoming years.

“The intangible thing we’ve had all this time has been wanting to tie the record at six, then break it at seven,” Wilson said. “We’ve had something to strive for. It will be interesting to see how it works out next year.”

—Staff writer Martin S. Bell can be reached at msbell@fas.harvard.edu.