The History of Derby Days
The tradition of Sigma Chi’s Derby Days began in the spring of 1933 at the Alpha Beta chapter at the University of California-Berkeley, under the name “Channingway Derby.” Located on Channing Way, the chapter sponsored an event composed of a series of humorous skits. In the spring of 1935, after receiving reports of the Channingway Derby, Beta Sigma chapter at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville made plans for a similar event. But instead of presenting skits, the event was planned around an all-day track and field competition between the pledge classes of the nine fraternities at Tennessee. More than 1,000 people were in attendance on November 1, 1935 to witness the first Derby involving campus sororities. On that day four Sigma Chis from the Delta chapter at the University of Georgia were visiting Knoxville and witnessed the event. The brothers took the idea back to their campus and named their production “Sigma Chi Derby.” During the 1960s, Derby began to take on the philanthropic approach for which it is now known on many campuses. After the Cleo Wallace Center became Sigma Chi’s Fraternity-wide service project in 1967, many chapters began using Derby as a fundraising event for the Center. Although some amount of charitable work had been done through Derby and similar events prior to that time, the Wallace Center project gave a much-needed boost to the concept of doing something for a needy group outside of campus. At the 1992 Leadership Training Workshop, the Children's Miracle Network was introduced as Sigma Chi’s suggested beneficiary of proceeds from chapter community service projects. The network, an alliance of 165 hospitals and health care facilities across the United States and Canada, generates funds for the children its associated hospitals serve.
