This past weekend provided quite the show for the Tulane community. The Bruff Commons Quadrangle was filled with sun, sweat and sun tan oil as each of the social fraternities lined up to participate in the 2018 Bodybuilding Blast.

With many brackets filled out for the year’s most anticipated tournament, students flocked to the quad bright and early on Saturday morning to witness history in the making. The objective was clear — the fraternity to lift the most weight would win the ultimate prize: total control of Bruff Quad for endless (shirtless) Spikeball® games.

First up to flex was Kappa Alpha. Lifting a whopping 185 pounds, the young sophomore contender was quick to show his celebration even before leaving the field. With many of the other frats becoming discouraged by this performance, four opposing fraternities dropped immediately. Former champion Sigma Alpha Epsilon, however, was prepared to defend its title by sending its best and (definitely) brightest to the field. This frat seemed to be the crowd favorite, with many students choosing SAE as the winner in their brackets.

Much like Virginia in the NCAA basketball tournament, however, this renowned powerhouse suddenly crumbled before everyone’s eyes. The seemingly strong senior representing this fraternity fell to his knees after attempting to lift 150 pounds. No one had ever crumbled before, so the judges were forced to consult the national rules of fraternity weightlifting. After announcing that the team must be disqualified for failing to handle the amount of weight chosen, the crowd fell completely silent. The greek house left the field with heads hanging low. It seemed as if KA would be crowned champion of this year’s tournament, since the last team stood no chance in the eyes of Tulane students.

Phi Kappa Sigma was the final team to participate, and these boys were the true underdogs of the whole affair. The frat’s freshman participant shocked the crowd, lifting more than 250 pounds with no issue. Though their brackets were busted, the crowd stormed the quad to celebrate this surprising win. After the crowd subsided, the president was bestowed the Spikeball® set of honor, and the team proceeded to consecrate its win with an opening game. The night ended with sno-balls and smiles all around — well, for everyone except SAE.

The sororities will have their chance to compete head-to-head next month in the annual Brunch Selfie Showdown, which will take place next Wednesday in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.