Girls can play rough, too; twelve teams from sororities and student organizations participated in a powder-puff football competition Sunday.

Campus Activities Board (CAB) sponsored the all-day event, which kicked off homecoming week at Central Park. Guadalupe Barraza-Ramirez, assistant vice president for Huskie Traditions for CAB, said NIU holds the tournament every year. Co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega won the tournament, defeating S.I.S.T.E.R.S. in the last two minutes of the game, said Michael Anderson, associate vice president for athletics for CAB.

Tracy Grupp, senior math and psychology major, has participated in the powder-puff game since her freshman year. Sunday, she played for APO, who won last year as well.

Grupp said her team trains for the games and had 15 practices over the past month.

“This is one of the [most fun] college experiences,” Grupp said. “We always have a good time.”

The game has four 10-minute quarters, Grupp said. The teams, divided in brackets, advanced when they defeated their opponents.

Participants also got about a five-minute halftime to refresh on free food and beverages. CAB provided chips, burgers, hot dogs and drinks for everyone at the event.

Hunter Constantino, senior physical therapy major, coached the PSA team and told them to play hard.

“As much as we are competitive, we’re here to have fun,” Constantino said.

Elaina Blunt, senior physical therapy major, played quarterback for PSA. Blunt said this event helps PSA train for the Rice Bowl in November, an event where PSA faces off against other universities in Illinois.

Ashley Roti, sophomore history education major, was the quarterback for Lambda Sigma sophomore honors society. Roti said she was nervous before she started her first game, but felt confident as soon as the game started.

“We have a lot of competitive people [on our team],” Roti said. “I personally really, really want to win.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Staff writer Hailey Kurth contributed to this article.