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ĢƵGreek Challenge nets $1.5 million for Catamount Club; winners announced

Members of Lambda Chi Alpha

 

By Bill Studenc

Members of ĢƵ fraternities and sororities contributed more than $1.5 million to the Catamount Club during the 2024-2025 edition of the Greek Challenge, an annual competition to see which organizations can raise the most money in support of the university’s athletics program.

Winners of this year’s challenge are Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, Sigma Chi fraternity, Delta Zeta sorority and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Those organizations will be recognized in an on-field celebration during WCU’s home football game Saturday, Nov. 8, as part of Homecoming weekend.

The $1,527,383.87 raised through the recently concluded challenge is more than double the total of $613,196.16  donated during the previous year’s competition, said Wes Cogdill, Catamount Club director and ĢƵassociate athletics director for development.

“Since it began in 2014, the Greek Challenge is among the most successful fundraising activities for the Catamount Club,” Cogdill said. “Members of our fraternity and sorority organizations have always stepped up in a major way on behalf of our student-athletes, and this year’s results reinforce that high level of support.”

Members of Delta Zeta

 

The 2024-2025 Greek Challenge is the first competition held with a new scoring rubric based on the total number of number of donors, the number of new donors and the total amount of dollars raised by each fraternity and sorority.

Participating Greek-letter organizations receive points based on where they place for each category. The group with the fewest number of points is named winner of its division.

The challenge is broken down into four flights based on the size of each organization’s membership, a step designed to make the event more equitable, with each flight having its own winner.

For the “total donors” category, the number of members who gave toward qualifying funds during the timeline of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, count toward that organization’s Greek Challenge tally. Checks that are mailed to campus are counted based on the date on the postmark on the envelope.

The “new donors” category counts the total amount of members who did not participate in the previous year’s Greek Challenge but who have donated during the current year’s Greek Challenge.

Finally, the “total dollars raised” category is a tally of the entire amount raised by each organization given to any ĢƵathletics fund that is not endowed.

The challenge totals include not only alumni of the Greek organizations but also current members of the fraternities or sororities who are part of the newly revived Student Cat Club.

The clock is now ticking for the 2025-2026 Greek Challenge, which got underway July 1 and continues through June 30.

The Greek Challenge flights are:

* Interfraternity Council Flight One: Pi Kappa Alpha, Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta Sigma Phi, Kappa Alpha, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Tau Kappa Epsilon.

* Interfraternity Council Flight Two: Sigma Chi, Pi Kappa Phi, Theta Xi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Pi Lambda Phi, Kappa Sigma, Alpha Sigma Phi, Sigma Nu and Delta Chi.

* College Panhellenic Council Sorority Flight Three: Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Zeta, Phi Mu, Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Gamma Delta and Sigma Kappa.

* National Pan-Hellenic/ National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations Flight Four: Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, Zeta Phi Beta sorority, and Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi sorority.

For more information about the Catamount Club, including the Student Catamount Club, visit the website or call 828-227-7338.

Donations made during the Greek Challenge also go toward WCU’s “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise a minimum of $100 million in philanthropic support for the university’s academic, student engagement and athletics programs.

For more information about the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign or to make a contribution, visit WesternSky.wcu.edu, call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.