If you build mud pits, they will come.

That, at least, is the hope of NIU’s Alpha Phi sorority as it gets ready for Saturday’s Mud Olympics, the first-annual philanthropy to help Cardiac Care and Research, which works for treatment of heart disease in women and regularly receives donations from the Alpha Phi Foundation.

With a schedule including mud Slip ‘N’ Slide, mud tug o’war and mud balloon popping, organizers hope Greeks and non-Greeks alike will enjoy getting dirty for a good cause.

“Everyone has a hidden wish to frolic in the mud,” said Deanna Gomez, vice president of marketing for the sorority.

The event is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. by the West Lagoon near Stevenson Towers North. Although team sign-ups already are complete, weekend stragglers can enter the fenced-off area for $5 after signing a liability release form.

The mud comes from local construction dirt supplied by the NIU grounds crew. Plans also have been made for the inevitable clean-up.

“There’s a shower system so they don’t clog the drains in the dorms,” Gomez said.

The idea sprung from a concept at Northwestern University, philanthropy director Kelly O’Toole said. The goal is to raise $2,000 for the sorority’s national charity.

Scheduled events also include a mud money-find in a baby swimming pool, where blindfolded participants can wallow for cash, and a mud dress-up in which contestants will put on muddy clothes in relays.

Other enticements include a raffle featuring prizes donated from local organizations.