While Pi Kappa Alpha had a dominant run in NIU Tugs from 1971 to 2010, winning all but nine titles, Phi Sigma Kappa has enjoyed a recent string of success, winning its first championship in 2010 before pulling off a three-peat from 2012-14 and losing in 2011 and 2015.

Tugs has been a tradition at NIU since the ‘60s and has been run by the Interfraternity Council since 2008 – IFC was chosen to take over the tournament after former fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon suspended operations of its chapter, according to the IFC website.

The process for Tugs is long and grueling — some members start preparing in January while others start as early as the middle of the fall semester. It’s something in recent years that Phi Sigma Kappa has really grown to appreciate and work hard for.

Phi Sigma Kappa’s practices consist of tugging against each other and practicing different moves. Most teams have something called a “hit” where all nine members are sitting in an upward position where they pull and push back on the boards in the ground. One team will try to take the rope straight through the other team’s arms or they might pop up, and it turns into somewhat of a hanging battle.

Kevin Mateblewski, Phi Sigma Kappa member and tugger, will be graduating this May and has been participating in Tugs since his freshman year. He has experienced winning and losing the event.

“You work all season and the only thing you have to practice against is yourselves,” Mateblewski said. “You really can’t show how hard you work up until it’s game time. It’s one week, you got your first match and if you lose that, your shot at going to first place at the championship is gone already.”

For Phi Sigma Kappa, it doesn’t matter who they go up against — they just want to win. Last year, the team lost to Sigma Alpha Epsilon after winning three consecutive titles.

“The end goal is just to win,” Mateblewski said. “Whoever we end up going against is who we end up going against.”

This will be Mateblewski’s final year participating as an undergraduate, but he said Tugs is definitely something he will try to come back and be a part of every year. Most organizations have strong alumni bases that support Tugs because of its ongoing tradition, something Mateblewski said he wants to give back to.

“While I’ve been here, the people that have graduated have come and have given their advice and any kind of support they can,” he said. “It’s definitely something I want to continue to do after I graduate, just give back what I can to the place that gave so much to me.”