What began four years ago as a simple rivalry between fraternities has turned into a philanthropy that raises tens of thousands of dollars and involves the rest of the Greek community and beyond.
Dropping the Puck on Cancer (DPOC) is a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA). DPOC culminated Saturday night at the Frank Southern Ice Arena with the highly-anticipated annual hockey game between Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi.
The game, dubbed the "Frat Classic," sold out in an hour. The stands were packed with brothers, friends and families for both fraternities. Fans and many adorning hockey jerseys were jumping around and cheering the entire game.
"It's one of the best days of the year," said Sig Chi's Vice President, Tom Temelkoff.
After Sig Chi took an early lead, Beta responded with one goal in the first period and four unanswered goals in the second period to make the game 5-1. Two of those second period goals came within 43 seconds of each other.
Sig Chi began catching up, making the score 5-3, but Beta scored again, with about five minutes left in the game, to win with a final score of 6-3. This gives Beta its first "Cure-it Cup" trophy since 2013.
But Beta and Sig Chi are not the only fraternities playing hockey for DPOC. Kappa Sigma and Delta Tau Delta played their first game last year, and Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta Upsilon, Theta Chi and Phi Delta Theta played for the first time this year.
Carl Lamb, president of Collegiate Charities, LLC, said even more organizations have expressed interest and could participate if it wasn't for seating capacity.
"We've been busting at the seams," Lamb said.
Collegiate Charities oversees the organization and promotion of DPOC, and in the last year it has expanded to organize similar events at the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Illinois, Miami University (Ohio) and University of Missouri. Lamb said once he retires from law, he will work with Collegiate Charities full time to execute these events, which benefit organizations ranging from those that deal with cancer to the Wounded Warrior Project.
"It's my passion," he said. "It gives me my purpose in life."
Lamb said working with the fraternities and seeing the members' commitment to DPOC changed his view of Greek life.
"I think a lot of people, including myself, had a lot of misperceptions about the Greek system," he said. "The general public doesn't always see that part of Greeks. The guys I work with are the future leaders of this country."
One person who's worked closely with Lamb on DPOC is Nico D'Antonio, a senior in Sig Chi. The former president and alumni director for DPOC has been involved with the event all four years of college and as played in the last three games.
D'Antonio, who's been playing hockey since age six, played as goalie on Saturday. He said being on the ice gave him butterflies, and although there was definitely an element of rivalry, it was "all in good fun."
"The most important thing to me is the money for the good cause," he said.
D'Antonio said he also enjoyed the addition of new games, getting to watch them as a spectator and seeing the fans' enthusiasm. As someone who's been involved with DPOC from almost the beginning, he said it's been exciting to see it grow.
"It's a good feeling that you helped create something that's been so popular on campus," D'Antonio said.
For him, the cause is even more personal, as during his freshman year of high school, one of his hockey teammates was diagnosed with rhabdomysarcoma, a rare cancer of the skeletal muscles, behind his eye - and survived.
DPOC supports the American Brain Tumor Association because of Andrew Esstman, who, according to the official DPOC website, was a friend of both fraternities and lost his mother to brain cancer in 2007.
"That’s been a motivating factor for why our house does why it does," D'Antonio said.
D'Antonio said his favorite part of DPOC this year was meeting with the ABTA representatives and hearing them express their gratitude to DPOC and their desire to help the event grow.
Christine Fairbairn, the advancement manager of development for the ABTA, said past funds raised from DPOC go to services for brain tumor patients and their families, as well as summer fellowships for medical students.
"It's amazing to see them (the fraternities) come back every year to support our cause," said Jennifer Sloan, ABTA advancement manager of events. "To see it grow just shows their commitment to the organization. We're honored to be part of it."
Lamb said although this year's grand total won't be known for a few weeks, he knows this year's DPOC raised "well over" $50,000, putting the four-year total at more than $130,000.
DPOC's fundraising efforts also include a Sorority Series, three different events in which sororities can form teams and compete against one another. The biggest of these events is Broomball; each sorority has a representative that relays information from Beta and Sig Chi to their chapters throughout the year.
D'Antonio said he hopes to have sorority members actual help plan events next year.
Connor Cosgrove, a junior in Beta, said he enjoys how DPOC has expanded to include the rest of the Greek community and even other organizations such as the IU field hockey team.
"Literally anyone can be involved," he said. "Even if you're not part of the Greek community you can still get a team together and compete and have fun. There's no discrimination. Everyone's welcome."
Cosgrove said his favorite part of DPOC and the game, however, is the good old-fashioned rivalry.
"There's nothing more exciting than getting value out of a rivalry," he said. "To be able to benefit and better other people's lives -- that's unique."
Photos by Christina Harkleroad, Alpha Sigma Alpha.
