Falcon said:
u are ON CAMPUS AT WCU, we have the main port (6667) blocked. To get around it, there is a list of servers at http://gamesurge.net/servers/. Pick one that uses a port other than 6667. My current configuration is that it is set to “gameservers.nj.us.gamesurge.net/6668”
If you are not on campus, then feel free to try “irc.gamesurge.net/6667”. If that doesn’t work, follow the same instructions as on-campus WCU students.
Actually, you can use irc.gamesurge.net/6668 anywhere 
. This will automatically cycle you through GameSurge servers should any of them be down.