Hillsdale College is home to the third-best chapter of the sorority Pi Beta Phi, following its competition for the Balfour Cup in July.

“Every year Pi Phi nationals chooses the Balfour Cup award, which is given to the most outstanding and excellent chapter,” chapter president and senior Hannah Allen said. “It’s a tradition that we have to be an excellent chapter, and it is beautiful to think about that tradition and that connection.”

The Michigan Alpha chapter of Pi Beta Phi has received first runner up several times, Allen said. This year, the Balfour Cup winner was Missouri Alpha from the University of Missouri, followed by Arizona Alpha from the University of Arizona. 

“The criteria is based off of a lot of things. That includes how well the executive council leads the chapter, as well as the health of the chapter and the events that the chapter puts on, like our programming,” Allen said. “A lot of our events are very intuitive to our chapter. They’re things that we just do and don’t even think about.”

Allen said academics are central to their success with the Balfour Cup.

“We have a long history of winning the college scholarship cup or having the highest GPA among sororities on campus,” Allen said. “We also host certain career programming, finance, and member experience events. We just hosted a brunch for all of our members this weekend. We are a high achieving chapter that puts on a lot of successful programming.”

The Balfour Cup is also based upon participation in philanthropy. Pi Beta Phi’s charity is Read>Lead>Achieve, a sorority-run nonprofit focused on improving children’s literacy rates through book donations and classroom volunteering.

“We consistently do a lot of work for philanthropy, and host a lot of events that are very successful throughout the year,” Allen said. “For example, we go into grade schools and read to children. That plays into our philanthropy as well as our service.”

Sororities apply regionally for the Balfour Cup through monthly chapter evaluations the executive council members fill out.

“Some of the questions on the evaluations pertain to staying within budget, retaining members, raising money for philanthropy, fulfilling roles as a chapter of Pi Phi, being active with your alumnae, being active on campus and in the community, and the health of the chapter as a whole,” said Maggie Carriker, vice president of finance and housing.

The Balfour Cup is determined through regional nomination.

“People in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio chapters are under a region,” Allen said. “We’re in region two, and our regional directors chose us as the top chapter in our region and therefore nominated us for the Balfour Cup.”

Delegates Carriker and Vice President of Risk Management Emily Hardy went to the Pi Beta Phi convention in Phoenix, Arizona on July 6. The semiannual convention stresses leadership training and personal development, according to Carriker. This year, more than 800 delegates attended.

“At the convention, we had no idea that we were even in the running for the Balfour Cup, and it was a total surprise when our name was announced,” Carriker said.

For Hardy, the Balfour Cup was a reflection of the hard work of the chapter.

“I was exceedingly proud of our chapter and their demonstration of sincere friendship, integrity, and servant leadership,” Hardy said. “I am very proud to be a part of this chapter and cannot wait to see the things we accomplish in the future on campus and off campus.”