On Oct. 24, the ladies of Zeta Tau Alpha put on the biggest philanthropy event of the year – Big Man On Campus (BMOC). Considered the largest individual Greek chapter philanthropy in the nation, BMOC raises money for breast cancer awareness and research, as well as the NFL Crucial Catch program.      

Fraternity men from all across campus, coached by women from different sororities, performed a total of 25 well-rehearsed acts, bringing humor and talent to the stage of the IU Auditorium. Prior to the start of the show, last year’s BMOC winner and member of the Theta Chi fraternity, Joe Weber, commented on his experience. 

“The month leading up to the event is so much fun, and it’s for a great cause,” Weber said. “I couldn’t not do it again.”   

Sigma Alpha Epsilon members Kaleb Sullen and Ladi Ogunbekun offered a glimpse of their dance performance backstage as well. 

“BMOC has been my best experience at IU,” Sullen said.

New to the stage this year, Ogunbekun shared his enthusiasm for the event. 

“I’ve met lots of great people,” he said. “I’m more than ready.”   

After months of organizing and advertising, handing out pink ribbons and collecting donations around campus, Zeta proudly presented BMOC to a large audience of students and family members. The event began with a video showing all the hard work the Zeta ladies put into BMOC, followed by a choreographed group dance including the contestants and members of Zeta. Emcees then took the stage to share the vision behind BMOC and introduce each of the participants. 

Performances throughout the evening included singing and dancing numbers, a variety of instruments and even some streamers, courtesy of Alpha Tau Omega. One of the night’s most unique performances was given by Collin Pfender of Delta Sigma Phi on his banjo. 

“I feel great,” Pfender said after performing. “It’s the only time I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing in life.”  

Brothers Greg Goodin, Chandler Swan, Taylor Gray, Simeon Washington and Nick Tobye of Sigma Phi Epsilon stole the show with a beautiful performance of One Direction’s “You and I.” 

“It’s euphoric,” Goodin said of being on stage. 

“The audience is amazing," Swan added. "You can’t see them, but you can hear them.” 

During intermission, Lizzie Prather, one of Alpha Chi Omega’s coaches for Pi Kappa Phi and Delta Tau Delta, commented on the event. 

“It’s way bigger and better than I expected,” Prather said. “I wish I knew about it last year.”     

Shelby Hudson and Ali Charles of Alpha Gamma Delta coached Sigma Pi contestant Rick Petricca. 

“I chose to participate in BMOC because it sounded like a good way of getting involved on campus and meeting new people,” Hudson said.   

Following intermission, the second part of the evening began with a tribute to Kelly Hackendahl, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha who passed away earlier this semester. A slideshow of pictures portrayed her personality beautifully, and the video ended with the quote, “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Certainly, all the hard work the Zetas put into BMOC would have made Kelly proud. 

Delta Chi members Daniel Nix and Glen Dash kicked off the second half of the evening with a jazz performance of “What a Wonderful World.”  

“Both of our grandparents were affected by breast cancer,” the brothers said during their pre-performance video interview. “So of course, we were going to do it.”   

Another one of the evening’s most touching performances was Alpha Epsilon Pi member Jonathan Moskovitz’s musical tribute to his mother. He composed a song about her struggle with breast cancer and why BMOC is so important. 

“It feels surreal,” Moskovitz said about the experience. “I wrote this song a month ago and it felt like the day was never going to come that I got to do it. I’m glad the crowd liked it as much as they did.”   

To round out all the incredible performances, IU’s own all-male a capella group Another Round took the stage, singing “You’ll Be in My heart” from "Tarzan" and “Stand By Me” by Ben King. During this time, the judges decided upon the winners of the awards, listed below:   

Zeta Sweetheart – Evans Scholars Daymon Osborn and Jack Conway 

Most Talented – Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Greg Goodin, Chandler Swan, Taylor Gray, Simeon Washington and Nick Tobye

People’s Choice – Phi Gamma Delta’s Will Penczek and David VanWinkle 

Best Coaches – Theta Phi Alpha 

Underdog – Sigma Chi’s Wes Bowman 

Third Runner Up – Sigma Nu’s Andy Glovsky and Alex Upwards

Second Runner Up – Alpha Tau Omega’s Chris Nardi, Dan Ramis and Jake Grossinger 

First Runner Up – Theta Chi’s Joe Weber, raising $5,678 

Big Man On Campus – Phi Sigma Kappa’s Matt Vallortigara, who raised more than $11,000      

Finally, after a night filled with enthusiastic and talented performances, it was time for Zeta’s philanthropy chairs, Molly Myerson and Ellen Wynn, to announce the total amount raised. Through BMOC, Zeta Tau Alpha raised a grand total of $203,603.22, more than $3,000 over their goal and over $28,000 more than last year.   

Zeta Tau Alpha member Taylor Hisek expressed how it felt to have successfully put on such an amazing event. 

“It feels awesome,” Hisek said. “It’s such a relief. it’s amazing to see the final outcome after all of our hard work.”

Photos by Lindsey Chervitz, Delta Zeta.