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DERBY DAYS
Since the birth of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, brothers have endeavored to give back to the world. The mission of Derby Days is simply to serve the community. Through Derby Days, Sigma Chi chapters worldwide have been able accomplish their endeavors and have positively affected their communities to an immeasurable extent.
Derby Days dates back to 1933 when the Alpha Beta chapter at the University of California-Berkeley sponsored an event composed of humorous skits. This event was actually called "Channingway Derby" which quickly spread throughout the nation. In the fall of 1935, word of the Channingway Derby traveled to the Beta Sigma chapter at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville where the chapter held an all-day track-and-field competition comprised of nine sororities. More than 1,000 persons were in attendance on November 1, 1935, including four brothers from the Delta chapter at the University of Georgia. The brothers from the Delta chapter brought the idea back to their campus and named the event Sigma Chi Derby. From there, the name and event stuck and only continued to grow and evolve internationally.
Here at Virginia Tech, the Eta Lambda chapter held the first Derby Days in 1972 at Frank "Coach" Teske's farm. Coach was the faculty advisor and at our first annual Derby Days, thirteen sororities (of Virginia Tech and Radford) competed to raise money for Sigma Chi's national philanthropy. At the time, our national beneficiary was the Cleo Wallace Center.
In 1992, the Children's Miracle Network became Sigma Chi's main philanthropic organization. Currently at Virginia Tech, all proceeds from Derby Days go to Children's Miracle Network of Roanoke. This is a unique fact because we have a direct affect on the lives of children right here in our area whereas most other organizations’ philanthropies on campus donate nationally. Derby Days is the oldest week-long philanthropy on campus, with our 40th annual Derby Days taking place this March.
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