By The Greek Cup, a new competition designed to increase fraternity and sorority participation at Cal State Long Beach sporting events, has drawn thousands of Greeks out to cheer on their student athletes.
More than 2,000 Greeks have attended CSULB basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer games since the athletic department began recording Greek attendance at sporting events, Matthew Barserian, the assistant director of marketing for LBSU athletics, said.
Though no data exists to compare this year’s Greek attendance to others, Barserian said Greek participation has steadily increased after information about the Greek Cup spread throughout CSULB fraternities and sororities.
“Since this competition began, we have seen Greek attendance rise in every sport respectively as the information has spread throughout each organization,” he said.
Greek participation lead to the women’s soccer team breaking its single-season attendance record while facing University of California, Irvine at the George Allen Field in October, Barserian said. Greeks accounted for more than a quarter of all attendees at the event.
Barserian said that the men’s basketball game against University of California, Santa Barbara, where Greeks accounted for one of every four in attendance, was another highlight for the program.
Associated Students Inc. Senator-at-Large Jaime Varela, who represents the Greek community, said the program’s success was due mainly to careful planning and good-spirited competition.
“We initially reached out to the Greek community to tailor [the Greek Cup] to their wants,” he said. “I think our Greeks are realizing it’s a competition where they get to go out and have a good time.”
Varela said the program is helping Greeks appreciate student athletics and possibly creating more interest in the Greek system.
“The reason we do these programs is to improve the Greek image on campus and to increase student involvement,” he said. “When the general student body sees that camaraderie, it could drive them look into Greek life and join the community.”
Varela said that while feedback for the program has been mostly positive, cultural fraternities have expressed a desire to be involved with the competition. He said changes will be considered for next year.
The fraternity and sorority with the most points at the end of the spring semester will have a banner with their names hung in the Watler Pyramid for the following school year, receive a trophy and have 50 points added to their Greek Week score, a week long point-based competition where fraternities and sororities raise money for charity.
Sigma Chi fraternity and Delta Gamma sorority are currently in the lead, but there are still opportunities for other chapters to pull ahead, Barserian said.
