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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].

Jon T. Buck

BuckPDT Name: Jon T. Buck
 
Current Residence:

Arlington, VA
 
Graduating Class Year:

April 2008
 
Pledge Class Year/Semester:

Fall 2004 (Alpha Class) 
 
Occupation:

BAE Systems - Systems Engineer

Role in the Reestablishment of the Michigan Alpha Chapter:

We were merely freshman when Michigan Alpha was refounded, but we anchored the Alpha class with the likes of Cam Young, Tony Adan, Chris Frayne, Ken Chaklos, Mike Tarquini, and myself.  Sophomore year in the house with Cam Young in room 4 and Junior year rooming with Patrick Moore in room 10 were filled with endless claasic times.  I was Recruitment Chair in 2006 and Phikeia Educator in 2007.  We went on to form the first State St. crew with Alex Johnson, Nick Lynn, Tony Adan, Jon Lerner, myself, and non-Phis Jon Acker and Fisticuffs.
 
Favorite Memory of Michigan Alpha:

State Street Sunday morning recaps of the weekend/Late Night Denny's.

Message for the Brothers About the 5 Year Anniversary of the Reestablishment of the Michigan Alpha Charter:

One of my favorite things about the house has always been watching it change and grow from year to year.  It's been amazing to see how far the house has come in so short a time, but also to see how far the recently graduated brothers have gone. 

Stay strong brothers; show the world what you can do both during Undergrad and beyond, and of course, never stop striving to transmit the fraternity to those who may follow after not only, not less, but greater than it was transmitted to you.