The beginning of Elon University’s Greek Week was met with anticipation not just for the upcoming events, but for the men’s and women’s basketball season. To kick off Elon’s 2025 Greek Week, fraternities and sororities participated in multiple activities with the basketball teams in an opportunity to earn points in the Showdown at Schar.
Greek Week is an annual event at Elon where fraternities and sororities compete against each other in various contests. This student engagement is also part of a fundraising effort where money from the events is donated to Habitat for Humanity.
All Elon Greek chapters across the Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council were split into teams of nine.
Freshman guard DeMarco Johnson said he enjoyed getting to interact with some fans. Demarco said it was fun to participate in events such as the men’s basketball dunk contest, which he won.
“It feels great seeing the atmosphere around, and just getting ready and being excited to play,” Johnson said.
The players and students competed in numerous events including knockout and a relay race where students rode a tricycle the length of the court and back.
When the students weren’t playing, the players took part in different competitions such as a three-point contest between the men’s and women’s teams. The men’s team additionally competed against each other in a dunk contest.
One of the main focuses of the event was to bring athletics and Greek life together. Elon’s Panhellenic Association Vice President of Internal Affairs, Elyse Schwartz said she loved getting involved with an event that expanded the community at Elon.
“Being able to see it happen throughout the process was so cool,” Schwartz said. “We're trying to get closer and do more intertwined events to combine both huge aspects of our campus together.”
In the end, team two, which consisted of Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Delta and Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. won the event.
Johnson said he had a great time meeting new people throughout the event. He said he believes it will help earn the team more recognition heading into the season.
“It’s fun getting to know new people,” Johnson said. “It just helps with exposure for the team.”
Schwartz said she hopes events such as Showdown at Schar can spark similar collaborations between Greek life and Elon Athletics.
“Having the athletic aspect of it and incorporating it into the season will really help engagement going both ways,” Schwartz said. “It’s a two-way street and that is a great thing our campus is trying to do.”