Each spring, all three professional business fraternities at Ohio University come together to host Balls for Balls, a meatball eating contest held to support testicular cancer research. Phi Chi Theta, Alpha Kappa Psi, and Delta Sigma Pi held the event on Wednesday, April 8th, at The Pigskin in Athens, Ohio. Each business fraternity provided teams of four to participate in the contest, although it was not limited to only members of these organizations. These teams of four then competed in different heats of the meatball-eating contest until only one team was left. The meatballs got progressively spicier each round, but eventually a team from Phi Chi Theta called themselves the champions.
Balls for Balls is a favorite among active members of the fraternity. Megan Hupp, a junior studying marketing and MIS, says, “Balls for balls is so fun for members because it gives everyone a chance to not only get together with our friends and watch people shovel meatballs into their mouths, but we really are doing this for a good reason. It’s hard being able to find the time to be philanthropic while in college, but PCT makes it easy and more fun to do that through various events throughout the year.” Tucker Skove, a senior studying MIS, has participated in the event for the past four years. He loves participating in the event, saying, “It’s fun to do this event with the other two business fraternities on campus; it gives us a sense of community within the College of Business. Participating in the meatball eating contest is fun, and also sickening when thinking about the amount of meatballs we have to eat in a short period of time, but it’s a good break from schoolwork and the money we have to pay goes towards a good cause, so it’s a win-win.”
There are fewer than 20,000 cases of testicular cancer each year in the United States. While this is rare, it most often affects men between the ages of 20 and 34. Every little thing counts when helping to find a cure for this disease, and the Zeta Lambda chapter of Phi Chi Theta at Ohio University will continue to host this event in order to raise money and awareness of this cancer.