Businessman and philanthropist Don Tocco will challenge Hillsdale sororities and fraternities to compete against him for prize money of $35,000 in a series of athletic challenges on March 31 and April 1.
“The challenge is about life,” Tocco said. “It takes courage to live well and come out and compete well against their peers and against me. It is a courageous act. It’s a bold act. And we want to show that there’s a reward for boldness in life.
Tocco has visited campus to conduct competitions with prize money for the last two decades, but he has not sponsored a sports competition in 10 years. A benefactor of the college and one of its favorite annual visitors, Tocco is the founder of D.L. Tocco Associates, a national marketing company based in Troy, Michigan.
Tocco invited the fraternities and sororities to sponsor one athlete to compete for a portion of a $35,000 prize award. Athletes will throw footballs to receivers, climb into the batting cage to hit fastballs, shoot 3-point shots and free throws in basketball, and play five games of ping pong and two games of chess.
The winner of each challenge will be awarded points, aiming for a perfect score of 325. The football, basketball, and baseball competitions will take place on March 31 from 6-8 p.m. Tocco will play the winner of Night 1 in ping-pong and chess the next morning in the Grewcock Student Union at 10 a.m.
Tocco will award Greek houses with thousands of dollars for competing. Additional funds will be placed into the Tocco Challenge Fund to be distributed among clubs and organizations on campus.
Tocco said his goal is to deliver the message that “Hillsdale college is the most important institution in American education.”
“I’m there to support and encourage excellence from all students,” he said.
Tocco wants students to strive for “arete”: the Greek word for excellence.
“This is all about you guys becoming your best selves compared to nobody else, excelling in all things, finding out what God’s plan for you is,” he said. “You have a great academic background and along with that, a competitive edge with great athleticism, and boldness. When you leave Hillsdale, you’re ready to go.”
As a businessman who has played sports all his life, Tocco said he is excited to compete once again.
“I’m hoping to be able to go out there and get the bat on an 85 mile-an-hour fastball,” he said. “I’m going to try to win because that’s what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
Member of the Charger women’s basketball team, senior Lauren Daffenburg, said she is excited to exercise her skills against Tocco.
“I am super excited to represent Chi Omega,” Daffenburg said. “Obviously I am a little nervous because I do not want to let down any of my sisters, but at the end of the day, I know everyone will be so supportive and love me no matter what. I am playing a lot of online chess with friends to sharpen up some strategies. I also will be going to hit some softball and baseballs to get better at that part, too.”
In 2002, Tocco said he became interested in donating to Hillsdale by learning about the college’s view of virtue in “Imprimis. He contacted the president’s office about donating money and had the idea of distributing funds through a sports competition.
“I felt that it had to be one of the great institutions in America and it had to be a center for leadership, particularly, political leadership, because of the commitment to teaching capitalism, free enterprise, and focusing on the constitution,” Tocco said. “That excited me because if that’s the case, there has to be a huge number of potential terrific young leaders at Hillsdale. The future of America has always been its youth, and Hillsdale has potential to develop those youth into competent leaders.”
Tocco said he is most concerned about his performance in ping-pong.
“Whenever I come to campus, everybody beats me,” he said, “and that scares me.”
Senior Michael Craig said he is nervous, but excited, to represent Alpha Tau Omega.
“I am definitely nervous about hitting baseballs because I haven’t played since middle school,” Craig said. “I am most confident in the ping-pong challenge, and I really hope I get the chance to play a game of chess, even though I think I’d be a bit of an underdog.”
Tocco said it is important for him to share good ideas on campus, as well as financially contribute to student-life.
“A lot of the things that you’re doing which are not academic — electives, organizations, or sororities and fraternities — you’ll learn a lot about life and leading in those areas,” Tocco said. “This way I’m helping you learn those things on your small campus to take into the real world.”
