On Saturday, November 7, 2026, University of Michigan students, alumni, sponsors, and supporters carried a 92-year Ann Arbor tradition past $100,000 in charitable fundraising for the first time—capped by a dramatic 20–18 Sigma Alpha Epsilon victory over Phi Delta Theta and the triumphant return of women’s mud volleyball.
Surpassed $100,000 in gross charitable fundraising for the first time in 92 years ($101,016 across 477 confirmed Givebutter gifts + $1,856 Detter Family Foundation match as of November 14, 2026).
Sigma Alpha Epsilon defeated Men’s Play-In Champion Phi Delta Theta 20–18 on a dramatic late touchdown in the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl Championship.
Women's Mud Volleyball returned to the Michigan Mudbowl with 16 registered sorority chapters supporting cancer research at the U-M Rogel Cancer Center.
Student leaders visited C.S. Mott Children's Hospital prior to game day, connecting months of campus fundraising directly to the Little Victors.
For ninety-two years, the Michigan Mudbowl has brought generations of Wolverines to the corner of Washtenaw and South University. In 2026, a student-led community turned that storied autumn ritual into something never before achieved in the tradition’s history: the first six-figure fundraising campaign.
Building on the momentum of 2025’s record-setting $83,000+ drive, 2026 student leaders set an audacious $100,000 goal in support of Michigan Medicine. Chapters rallied parents, classmates, alumni, and local supporters across weeks of peer-to-peer campaigning, Pre-Game Partner collaborations, and community outreach.
As of November 14, 2026, the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl has raised a verified $102,872 in gross campaign support—combining $101,016 across 477 completed, provider-confirmed Givebutter gift transactions with a $1,856 matching contribution received by check from the Detter Family Foundation. Every chapter campaign share, alumni gift, and sponsor commitment helped push the Mudbowl past the $100,000 mark #FerDaKids.
Production records 477 completed, provider-confirmed Givebutter gift transactions (matching the 477 supporters count displayed on Givebutter) across 409 distinct normalized donor email addresses, plus 1 independently deposited sponsor matching check from the Detter Family Foundation ($1,856). Because supporters may contribute multiple times or share household emails, transaction and email counts are reported strictly as verified gift/address counts rather than assumed unique individual headcounts.
Published fundraising figures represent gross fundraising receipts. 100% of net proceeds from the Michigan Mudbowl, after event expenses, benefit Michigan Medicine.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon defeated Phi Delta Theta 20–18 in a dramatic finish decided by a late SAE touchdown, renewing a storied rivalry that began at the first Mudbowl in 1934.
When Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Phi Delta Theta lined up in the mud at noon on Saturday, November 7, 2026, they stepped directly into the oldest chapter of Mudbowl lore. Ninety-two years earlier, in the fall of 1934, SAE’s Karl “Bunny” Giller challenged Phi Delta Theta to the very first Mudbowl—forging an Ann Arbor rivalry that has endured across generations.
The 92nd edition delivered a finish worthy of 1934. After earning the challenger berth by winning the Men’s Play-In Tournament Championship the previous Sunday, Phi Delta Theta pushed host Sigma Alpha Epsilon to the final moments in a physical, back-and-forth battle.
Trailing late, Sigma Alpha Epsilon broke through for a dramatic late touchdown to capture a 20–18 championship victory, sealing an unforgettable Mudbowl Saturday in front of students, alumni, families, and supporters lining the pit.
Equally historic on Mudbowl Saturday was the celebrated return of Women’s Mud Volleyball. Sixteen University of Michigan sorority chapters registered for the 2026 division, restoring women’s mud competition to the heart of the weekend while directing sorority fundraising support toward cancer research and women’s health at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center.
Led on the fundraising leaderboard by Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Epsilon Phi, and Chi Omega, sorority participants brought energy, camaraderie, and purpose back to the mud pit.
Verified Outcome Note: MLive and Club leadership confirmed the return of Women's Mud Volleyball during the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl. Individual Women's Mud Volleyball match scores were not recorded in the digital Match ledger and are intentionally not invented here; verified division bracket details are slated for archival enrichment in Release B.
In keeping with Michigan Mudbowl governance—“Fundraising determines eligibility. Fundraising performance determines seeding. Football determines the champion.”—chapters earned their place in the 2026 Men’s Play-In Tournament through verified philanthropic commitment.
Four contenders surpassed the $3,000 minimum qualification standard to earn spots in the Sunday, November 1, 2026 single-elimination stepladder on Field 1: #1 seed Phi Delta Theta (earning an automatic Play-In Championship berth), #2 seed Phi Gamma Delta / FIJI (earning a first-round bye), #3 seed DREAM on 3, and #4 seed Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), while Sigma Alpha Epsilon stood ready as the traditional Saturday championship host while leading all chapters with $50,662 raised.
Tau Kappa Epsilon battled through both the 12:00 PM Opening Round against DREAM on 3 and the 1:00 PM Challenger Qualifier against FIJI to reach the Play-In final. In Game 3 at 2:00 PM ET, Phi Delta Theta defeated TKE 16–0 to claim the 2026 Men’s Play-In Tournament Championship and punch its ticket to Championship Saturday against SAE.
TKE Advanced • Score Pending Confirmation
TKE Advanced • Score Pending Confirmation
Final — PDT Wins the Men’s Play-In Tournament Championship
Final — SAE Wins 92nd Mudbowl on Late TD
Three days before kickoff, on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, student leaders representing the 92nd Michigan Mudbowl stepped away from tournament logistics to visit C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital—continuing an emerging pre-game tradition that grounds months of student effort in the lives of the Little Victors and families who inspire it.
Through its dual philanthropic pathways at Michigan Medicine, the 2026 Mudbowl united Men’s Mud Football behind pediatric clinical care and research at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital via the Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund, and Women’s Mud Volleyball behind breakthrough oncology research at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 • Student Leadership Reflection“It was a great tour! I think the game room and Sophie’s tour are both so meaningful, and it’s really cool to see how welcoming Mott tries to be in times that can be so scary for families and patients.”
Supports pediatric clinical care and innovative clinical research advancing treatments for children and families at Michigan Medicine.
Supports breakthrough oncology research, clinical innovation, and patient care at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center.
“The alumni protect the opportunity. The students make it their own.”
At the center of the 92nd Michigan Mudbowl stood the students who organized the brackets, rallied thirty-six Greek chapters, coordinated 175 waiver-cleared student athletes, staffed check-in tables, and kept the charitable mission at the forefront of every decision.
Returning for a second consecutive year as President of the Michigan Mudbowl Club student organization, senior Max Wiley—alongside fellow 2026 student leaders Owen Ballor, Nathan Greenleaf, Neal Pullukat, Cayetano Machota, Dominic Sender, Henry Feyen, Sarmad Matti, and Benji McCaw—challenged the campus community to reach heights no previous Mudbowl had achieved.
Sustaining their work behind the scenes is the Michigan Mudbowl Club, an independent 501(c)(3) public charity established by alumni in 2016 to provide long-term governance, insurance, financial compliance, and institutional continuity—so each generation of University of Michigan students can safely make the tradition their own.
Max Wiley is a University of Michigan senior serving his second consecutive year as President of the Michigan Mudbowl Club student organization. He also serves as Philanthropy Chair of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Under Max’s student leadership, the 2025 Michigan Mudbowl achieved a record fundraising total exceeding $83,000.
Rather than stepping away from the responsibilities of leading the organization during his senior year, Max returned with an even more ambitious goal: helping the Mudbowl community reach $100,000 in support of its charitable mission.
His commitment reflects the spirit of student leadership the Mudbowl seeks to inspire—embracing responsibility, bringing people together, and discovering the lasting impact of service to something greater than oneself.
Registered Division Chapters: Alpha Sigma Phi, Chi Psi, Delta Chi, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Upsilon, Lambda Chi Alpha, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Theta Delta Chi, Theta Xi.
Registered Division Chapters: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi, Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Kappa, Zeta Tau Alpha.
A pivotal boost in the 2026 campaign came from the Detter Family Foundation, which contributed a $1,856 matching gift to amplify student and community giving during the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl.
As confirmed by Michigan Mudbowl Club President Joseph Van Harken, the $1,856 Detter Family Foundation contribution was received by check and deposited directly into the Michigan Mudbowl Club 501(c)(3) account. Givebutter’s official campaign display total ($102,872) reflects this $1,856 match alongside the $101,016 raised across 477 provider-confirmed Givebutter transactions.
To maintain strict financial provenance, the EMS records the Detter Family Foundation gift as an independently received sponsor matching contribution—never duplicating it as a synthetic Givebutter transaction or double-counting it in chapter seeding.
Every visual asset published in the Michigan Mudbowl archive carries verified source provenance, creator attribution, privacy clearance, and cryptographic integrity checks. Only rights-cleared media authorized for public release appear below, followed by our open Release B archival call for licensed game-day photography and video.
Student leaders representing the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl display the #92 Mudbowl jersey on the accessible indoor play structure bridge during their Wednesday, November 4, 2026 visit to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
Participating team leaders gather around the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Superman statue with the #92 Mudbowl jersey ahead of the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl.
During the tour of the game room and play spaces, student leaders saw firsthand how C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital creates welcoming environments for children and families.
Student leaders from competing chapters unite behind a shared mission at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital three days before kickoff on Mudbowl Saturday.
Official commemorative artwork for the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl Presented by Almost Friday, uniting University of Michigan student athletes and supporters for Michigan Medicine (#FerDaKids).
Student leaders Nicolas Cargill (center) and Andrew Soenksen (right) celebrate the presentation of a $47,000 ceremonial check benefiting C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Their determination to preserve the Mudbowl during a period of uncertainty helped inspire the alumni-supported nonprofit framework that sustains the tradition today. Ten years later, the 2026 student generation carried that preserved tradition past $100,000 for the first time.
To respect journalist copyrights and participant privacy, only Club-owned or explicitly licensed assets appear above. The following 2026 media collections are queued for Release B archival ingestion as rights clearances finalize:
Club-owned or photographer-licensed high-resolution action photos from the November 7, 2026 SAE vs. PDT championship game and trophy celebration.
Authorized game-day photographs of participating sorority teams and matches from Women's Mud Volleyball.
Approved team huddles and sideline photos from Sunday, November 1 Play-In games and November 7 Mudbowl Saturday.
Dedicated 2026 student executive board group portrait and optional student-submitted headshots/titles.
Official 2026 ceremonial check presentation photograph with Michigan Medicine representatives once post-event disbursement is finalized.
Behind-the-scenes photographs of student referees, check-in volunteers, DJ/production crew, and field setup teams.
Rights-cleared recap reel or game-winning late SAE touchdown clip with cleared audio/music rights.
Regional journalism captured both the dramatic championship finish and the historic philanthropic milestone of the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl.
MLive chronicled the historic 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl in Ann Arbor as community fundraising surpassed $100,000 for the first time in the tradition’s history, Sigma Alpha Epsilon edged rival Phi Delta Theta 20–18 on a dramatic late touchdown, and women’s mud volleyball returned to the event.
Breaking a 92-year fundraising record required an extraordinary coalition of corporate partners, foundation supporters, alumni advisors, student officials, check-in volunteers, and generous donors across the Michigan community.
We extend special gratitude to Presenting Sponsor Almost Friday, Featured Partner MUG Root Beer, and the Detter Family Foundation, alongside the student volunteers, chapter philanthropy chairs, referees, and supporters behind all 477 confirmed campaign gifts.
Headline presenting partner of the 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl, helping amplify campus engagement and game-day energy.
Featured community and game-day partner supporting the 2026 Michigan Mudbowl experience.
Provided a $1,856 matching contribution received by check and deposited into the Michigan Mudbowl Club 501(c)(3) account to amplify community giving.
Verifies SAE 20–18 victory over Phi Delta Theta, late SAE game-winning touchdown, 1934 rivalry heritage, return of women’s mud volleyball, and breaking the $100,000 fundraising milestone.
Reconciles $102,872 official Givebutter campaign total = $101,016 across 477 COMPLETED + LIVE_PROVIDER_CONFIRMED transactions (409 distinct normalized emails) + $1,856 Detter Family Foundation match.
Confirms the $1,856 Detter Family Foundation matching gift was received by check and deposited into the Michigan Mudbowl Club account.
Preserves verbatim student reflection and 4 privacy-cleared, SHA-256-verified photographs from the November 4, 2026 hospital tour.
Documents the $3,000 qualification threshold, 4 Play-In qualifiers (PDT, FIJI, DREAM on 3, TKE), TKE advancement in Games 1–2, and PDT 16 — TKE 0 Play-In Championship final.
The 92nd Annual Michigan Mudbowl concluded on Saturday, November 7, 2026, with Sigma Alpha Epsilon defeating Phi Delta Theta 20–18 and Women’s Mud Volleyball returning to the event.
The permanent 2026 Digital Yearbook is published at /history/2026 on the reusable /history/[year] annual archive architecture.
The 2026 Givebutter campaign surpassed $100,000 ($102,872 gross raised as of November 14, 2026) and remains open for post-event gratitude and late contributions until formally closed by Club leadership.
Final 2026 event expenses, vendor settlements, and full accounting reconciliation are not yet assumed complete.
Published fundraising figures represent gross fundraising receipts; final net charitable distributions to Michigan Medicine occur only after event expense reconciliation is completed.
Ninety-two years after a friendly challenge on Washtenaw Avenue began the Michigan Mudbowl, the 2026 class proved what happens when campus tradition meets enduring purpose. The mud dries, seniors graduate, and a new slate of student leaders will soon step forward to write the 93rd chapter—standing on the permanent foundation built here.
The Mud tests what you're made of. The tradition asks what you'll leave behind.
The students change. The tradition endures. The mission continues.
