Delta Chi will search for its first championship title in men’s Tugs this week, the highest the fraternity placing being fifth.

The fraternity placed sixth in the competition in 2015, its first year tugging as a solo team. Chapter President Jesse Melow said the organization knows it has to put in a ton of hard work and dedication in order to place higher this year.

Delta Chi’s practices run every week at 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday at their fraternity and last up to three hours. They run a mile before practice starts and perform core and leg strength exercises including squats, broad jumps and burpees.

The team practices “eating rope” often, a vital part of tugging. The concept of the tactic is to allow the opposing team to gain an advantage on the rope, only to retaliate by taking more.

“By the end of [practice] you’re going to be drained and you’ll probably just want to go to bed,” Melow said. “With how grueling the matches are, it’s pretty necessary to kind of exhaust yourself every single day.”

Melow is a sophomore and has tugged both years. He said he is looking forward to facing Sigma Alpha Mu the most.

“The last few years we always open up against them,” Melow said. “They’re a very good team, so we’re excited to gauge where we’re at. I know they took third place last year, so it’ll be a good challenge.”

Delta Chi is currently in the process of losing weight to make the average weight for the ropes. Some members are on a 10-day rice cleanse, which only allows them to eat brown rice and white chicken breasts.

Matches will start today and end Saturday, all taking place on the east side of Huskie Stadium. Week passes for the event can be bought for $16 online at niu.universitytickets.com.