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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].

Josh Dimkoff

Dimkoff profile pic1 Name:   Josh Dimkoff

Current Residence and Contact Information:  
Hinesville, GA
[email protected]

Graduating Class Year:  2001

Pledge Class Year/Semester: 
As a re-founding father, I had no pledge class.  I joined in March, 2003.

Employer / Occupation or Graduate School:  
US Army, attorney and Captain in the JAGC

Career or Graduate School Overview:
After graduating from Michigan, I then went on to graduate from Ave Maria School of Law in 2008.  I am licensed to practice law in Michigan, and I am currently a Captain in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp for the Third Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, GA (near Savannah).  Despite not being too much like the movies, it is an awesome job.  I will likely be deploying to Afghanistan in 2011. 

Personal Activities and Family Status:  
I’m having fun in my 20’s.  I’m trying to keep the family thing at bay until my 30’s. 

Interesting Career Fact or Experience: 
The goal is to be retired by the time I’m 50, and with the Army JAGC, it is likely going to happen.

Role in the Reestablishment of the Michigan Alpha Chapter: 
After joining the PhiDelt colony during my sophomore year, I made the interesting and difficult decision to live for my junior year in Mosher Jordan.  That proved quite fortuitous for the fraternity because I succeeded in recruiting many of my fellow founding fathers from the halls of Mosher Jordan, when the rest of campus wasn’t producing pledges.  I exclusively recruited Jacob Bach, Alex Johnson (who lived one and two doors away from me on the 4th floor) Josh Moon (who I had known since I was 4), and later, Brian Boss.  After they were recruited, like clockwork, we scored others from Mosher Jordan, namely, Kevin Szawala, Jason Barley, and Will Grosslet.  I am actually surprised that I couldn’t successfully recruit a few more guys to whom we extended bids.  Suffice to say, I was named “Recruiter of the Year” for 2003-2004, which really was our make-or-break year. 

Favorite Memory of Michigan Alpha:  
In my last semester, as chorister, I led our Team Six “Sing” team for the Sing & Variety show of Greek Week.  Our team, which was a composite of PhiDelt, Deke, and ADiPi, was part of a 3-way tie for first in the Sing, which pushed us over the top, and we won Greek Week 2005.  The celebration at Deke that followed was my favorite party experience of my college years.

Message for the Brothers About the 5 Year Anniversary of the Reestablishment of the Michigan Alpha Charter:  
Keep belief alive.  It was looking pretty iffy for several months leading up to the re-founding as to whether we would indeed make our recruiting goals to achieve the magic 35.  A few of us held an unwavering belief that our work would not be for naught.  Optimism is contagious, but so are doubt and pessimism.  Don’t be afraid to look a little outside the box in recruitment efforts.  I ended up living in the fraternity for just my senior year, but that a-traditional route turned out to be one of the best college choices I made.  Finally, don’t let the fraternity monopolize all of your efforts; get involved with everything.