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Michigan Alpha Centennial 1964

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    The Centennial Celebration 1964 jointly hosted by the Michigan Alpha Alumni Association and active chapter.

Homecoming 2013

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    Homecoming 2013 at 1437 Washtenaw.

Harmon BBQ 2013

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    BBQ at the chapter house to honor Tom Harmon '41.

Homecoming 2012

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    BBQ revives tradition attracting strong alumni attendance.

Mud Bowl

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    A PHOTO HISTORY OF THE MUD BOWL 1934 to 1997 ~ MICHIGAN'S GREATEST FRATERNITY ATHLETIC RIVALRY During the fall of 1934, Phi Delta Theta (PDT) active member E. Reed Low '37 challenged the "house across the street" (Sigma Alpha Epsilon -- SAE) to a friendly game of "touch" football on the morning of Homecoming in a little used valley in their side yard along South University. Low is considered the founder of the Mud Bowl. The men of PDT and SAE fought a close match which SAE narrowly won 8 - 6. Given the intense rivalry between the two fraternities which were located only a couple hundred feet apart, it was decided that the Mud Bowl would be an annual event. The Mud Bowl became a revered Homecoming tradition as PDT and SAE fiercely battled each year for nothing more than pride. In the early years, the game essentially was a rough intramural football match played on a field that was wetter and shorter than regulation. As the annual contest matured, it was decided that the challenge and entertainment value of the game could be enhanced by tilling the ground and flooding the field. Eventually, the Ann Arbor Fire Department contributed to making the mayhem on the field even more muddy by pouring approximately 10,000 gallons of water into the valley shortly before the game. By kickoff of games played in the 1970s through the 1990s, it was not uncommon for the mud to be more than one foot deep with water covering the west end of the "field." The PDT-SAE rivalry series in the Mud Bowled ended in 1997 after the 60th game between the two fraternities was played. The records about these 60 games are a combination of fact and myth, but no one disputes that this was the greatest fraternity athletic rivalry in the State of Michigan if not the entire nation. The Mud Bowl grew into such a spectacle that crowds numbering in the thousands showed up each year to witness the game. The game attracted coverage by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, ABC Sports as well as campus, Ann Arbor and Detroit media. The Mud Bowl became so popular that national brewing companies -- at first Stroh's, and then Miller -- sponsored the event. Of course, some people have speculated that the presence of sororities playing football, or speedball in some years, during the half-time may have garnered most of the great public interest in the event. Nonetheless the athleticism and intensity of the PDT-SAE matchups proved to be very entertaining for the fans. While the exact win-loss tally is subject to dispute, it is believed that PDT rightly boasts a few more victories in the series than SAE. Given that SAE hand picked the referees for each Mud Bowl, a PDT victory typically required overcoming the opposing players plus the men in stripes. For this reason, PDT's hard fought "losses" remain as much a source of pride as its many victories. If you have pictures or memories of the Mud Bowl to share with the Alumni Association's Heritage Project, please contact us at [email protected].

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PDT Returns to the Mud Bowl Championship on Homecoming Morning

Wins 2017 Fraternity Play-in Tournament to Play the Michigan Mud Bowl Club

[Posted October 23, 2017]  The Alumni Association is extremely proud of our active chapter Michigan Alpha Men who won the 2017 IFC-sponsored Fraternity Mud Bowl Play-in Tournament by beating Sigma Phi Epsilon. PDT will play the Michigan Mud Bowl Club (comprised of former SAE active members and other U of M students) in the Mud Bowl Championship game during the morning of Homecoming on October 28. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m.

The 2017 match -- the 80th in the 84 year history of the game -- will be the 61st appearance of PDT in the Mud Bowl tradition that was started during Homecoming of 1934 when Brother E. Reed Lowe '37 challenged the "house across the street" (i.e., SAE) to a friendly game of "touch" football.

Legend has it that Lowe conceived the Mud Bowl as a way to fire up students and alumni prior to the Homecoming varsity football game which was expected to be a close fight. During the 1930s, PDT and SAE were bitter rivals in intramural sports, and Lowe knew that grudge match old school football was sure to attract a boisterous crowd that would be warmed up for later cheering the Wolverines against the Fighting Illini in Michigan Stadium.

SAE narrowly beat PDT 8 to 6 during the first Mud Bowl game in 1934; however, Michigan Alpha Men went on to win at least 27 of the next 59 Mud Bowls against SAE. It is believed that PDT held a slight edge over SAE in Mud Bowl victories (tie games not counted) when the rivalry series ended in 1997. SAE established the Mud Bowl Tournament for fraternities to raise funds for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in the 2000s when PDT was unable to participate because it was not active on campus. PDT's play in the 2017 Mud Bowl marks the first time in 20 years that Michigan Alpha Men have competed for the Mud Bowl Championship.

The Alumni Association encourages all alums to cheer our boys to victory at the Mud Bowl, and then stop by 1437 Washtenaw for the 2017 Homecoming Open House that will feature breakfast foods and beverages (house is open 8:30 a.m. to noon).

For information on the history of the Mud Bowl, view the Alumni Association's web site (www.pdtumich.com/…/05/the-history-of-the-pdt-sae-mud-bowl.h…). Have a great Mud Bowl memory? Please share it on our page or contact us at [email protected].

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