Santa Claus and a dozen or so other Valparaiso University students hurdled around the darkness at 4:30 a.m, anxiously waiting to get into the Athletics Recreation Center (ARC) to support the Valparaiso men’s basketball team who was making its first appearance in ESPN’s annual Tip-Off Marathon.

The Indiana Iota Colony came out strong Tuesday morning to support the Crusaders in their 7 a.m. showdown against the Northern Illinois Huskies. The day began much earlier for the colony, as the Phi Delts began the morning cooking eggs and bacon for tired, but loyal Crusader fans at a tailgate at the ARC parking lot.

Several campus celebrities made surprise appearances at the tailgate including VU Assistant Coach Jake Diebler, who provided muffins for the tailgate, and VU senior point guard Erik Buggs.  Indiana Iota was nationally recognized for this event as USA Today sportswriter Mike Lopresti also stopped by the event and wrote an article about it that included quotes from founding fathers Joey Basil and Pete Rufo.

Indiana Iota was very pleased with the turnout at its first basketball tailgate, and intends to have more in the near future.

To read Lopresti’s article, visit this link.