After competing in an intramural basketball league in his freshman year, second-year risk management and finance student Mark Laughery has stepped into a bigger role: organizing a team for Phi Sigma Kappa as they join the Greek Basketball Association this year.
The Greek Basketball Association was started in 2022 at the University of Indiana by Beta Theta Pi member Michael Bales. Twenty teams participated in the league's first year, according to PR Newswire.
The league has since expanded to over 30 universities across the nation with over 500 fraternities participating this year. Several SEC schools joined the GBA this season, including Alabama and in-state rivals Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
The Interfraternity Council was asked if South Carolina wanted to join and expand Greek basketball on campus, according to fourth-year political science student Will Karikas, a member of both Phi Gamma Delta and the IFC.
“The IFC account got a DM from the GBA asking if we wanted to expand,” Karikas said. “And I was all for it.”
Laughery said his fraternity's president asked him to recruit their team over the summer, as he was one of the few returners from Phi Sigma Kappa's team in the campus recreation league last year. Laughery said he likes the team he created for the GBA this year.
“It’s nice to see it finally come to something because I spent a lot of the summer trying to get people to play,” Laughery said. “So I’m happy it’s been able to happen.”
Since transitioning from the intramural league to the GBA, Phi Sigma Kappa now competes against more fraternities, with a regular season of eight games instead of four.
Laughery also said joining the GBA has made the league more professional. Every team designed a customized jersey that has the fraternity's name on the front. Players in the league also select their last name or nickname as well as a jersey number to go on the back.
“It’s just so much more official," Laughery said. "First off, having the jerseys with our frat letters on it is a lot better, as well as the fact that it’s one league with all the fraternities.”
Bales recruited Dallas Mavericks Minority Owner Mark Cuban to sponsor the league. Cuban was a part of Phi Lambda Phi at the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to the University of Indiana where he graduated in 1981. Phi Lambda Phi wasn't an active fraternity while he was at the university, but he has visited both schools' chapters as an alumnus.
Cuban served as the majority owner of the Mavericks for 23 years, including when they won the 2011 NBA championship. Over the two decades, the Mavericks saw an overall increase in games attendance.
The state of South Carolina is home to two schools participating in GBA, as Clemson joined shortly after the Gamecocks in the spring. Karikas wants the rivalry to transfer to the GBA level through an annual game against Clemson.
“Our plan is to hopefully talk to Clemson and have the winner of our two leagues play each other, either here or there, switching off each year," Karikas said. "Hopefully at a bigger venue and make it a big event. That's the goal."
Regular season
The 12 USC fraternities participating are Phi Sigma Kappa, Phi Gamma Delta, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Pi Kappa Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Sigma Kappa, Chi Psi, Theta Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Sigma Chi.
Each team is assigned to one of three divisions. Teams in the same division will face off twice, along with two out-of-division games each.
As of Oct. 12, Theta Chi (7-0) led Division 1, Sigma Phi Epsilon (7-0) led Division 2, and Chi Psi (6-2) led Division 3 to close out the regular season.
The games are split into two 15-minute halves. Free throws are also rewarded on every team foul after eight fouls in a half.
Every game also features two referees, as well as scorekeepers that track the players’ minutes and other statistics such as points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
At least every other week, the social media team posts the top players' statistical rankings and league standings on the @gba.southcarolina Instagram page. Players within the league leave playful or encouraging comments about their teammates' performances.
Playoffs
Playoffs started on Oct. 14 after the eight games of the regular season. In it, the top 10 teams at the end of the season competed in single-elimination games.
If any teams end the season with the same record, the tiebreaker will be point differential. Karikas also said the league will implement a play-in similar to the one the NBA adapted in the 2020-21 season.
“Seven through 10 will be in a play-in, and then ... we’ll have a straight, single-elimination playoffs,” Karikas said. “It’ll be three rounds: a quarterfinals, semifinals, finals.”
Laughery is optimistic about the playoffs, as he said it adds more to the competition.
“I’m looking forward to when we get to playoffs and when it feels like you’re playing for something,” Laughery said.
The winner of the playoffs will go on to compete in the GBA's first-ever national championship in November in Memphis, Tennessee. Sixty-four teams compete in the national tournament, and 30 of those 64 will be the winners of each school's playoff tournament.
South Carolina players on teams that miss the postseason will still have a chance at taking home individual awards.
“We’re going to do an all-star game at the end of the year, before playoffs, as well as some (awards) like MVP, defensive player of the year, rookie of the year," Karikas said. “I’m going to send out a poll to all the captains, and they can’t vote for their own players.”
Improvements
While the expansion of the league has been well received by the fraternities, the first year has come with growing pains for the participating teams, including obtaining a court to play at. Karikas talked about some of the difficulties that the league has experienced so far.
“The biggest obstacles have just been scheduling and the planning of everything,” Karikas said. "Then I had to make sure everyone signed a liability form, ... And currently, I’m trying to get us to be able to play inside at Strom or Blatt.”
Fourth-year history student John Chiffriller, who competes for Phi Sigma Kappa, also voiced similar concerns over what could be improved within the league.
“There are a lot of change-ups on who you’re playing, when you're playing, where you’re playing the day of, which is kind of hard to organize with students,” Chiffriller said. “And hopefully, we can get some indoor courts because it is hot out here.”
Growing the bond
While the league is working to make improvements after some obstacles with organizing and refereeing, some fraternity members have liked the overall decision of joining the GBA.
“I think that it brings out competitiveness between the teams but also within the team," Chiffriller said. "It is a good way for people to vent out some pent-up frustration, and by the end of the game … everyone’s always feeling good.”
Joining the GBA has allowed members of different fraternities to interact with one another.
“I feel like everyone’s together and meeting each other more, so we’re able to actually talk to each other and share over basketball,” Karikas said.
Fourth-year finance student Joey Mitchell plays for Chi Psi, which currently leads its division. Mitchell said he looks forward to continuing the league and potentially winning the championship for South Carolina this year.
“Everything’s been good so far, and I hope we could do it in the future years, and hopefully we win it all," Mitchell said.