Independent Rule

The very first Little 500 race champions were almost predictable. Independent teams without greek affiliation dominated the early years of the event, winning four of the first five races held. \nIn 1951, it was the South Hall Buccaneers from Collins.\nIn 1952 and 1953, it was the North Hall Friars, also from Collins. South Cottage Grove won in 1955. \nBut then, suddenly, independent teams were nowhere to be found. \nInstead teams like Sigma Nu, Phi Gamma Delta, Alpha Tau Omega and Phi Kappa Psi could call the Little 500 their race.\n"It became a greek-dominated event," said Race Coordinator Lucas Calhoun.\nFor 28 years, the only people celebrating Little 500 championships lived in fraternities, and independents, who once defined the Little 500, were just a part of IU folklore.\nThen came 1984. Cutters, an independent team in its first Little 500 race, shocked the field and stole the race from the fraternities. \nAnd then again in 1986. And again in 1988.\nFrom that point on, Calhoun said the success of the independents encouraged other independent teams to compete. And win.\nSince Cutters' three championships in the 1980s, independents have won 10 of the last 17 men's races. \nThe women's race is no different. Independents captured the first six women's races, starting with Willkie Sprint in 1988. \nIn the women's race's 17-year history, independents have won more races than greek teams -- 10 to seven. \nBut those kinds of numbers don't stop independent riders from feeling like the underdog. \n"I love being the underdog," said Teter rider Sarah Reicke, whose team won the race in 2005. "It does mean a lot now there are these independent teams and dorm teams and that we can succeed without the base of rookies sorority teams usually have. It's really hard to get that base of riders. To be able to compete with somebody who has history, it really is \nsomething."\nNot only do sororities have a base of riders, men's and women's greek teams have a fan base, too -- which can be a blessing or a curse.\n"When you have a group of your peers cheering for you, you don't want to mess up," Calhoun said. "And it's hard for students to block that out. Some teams do have that advantage that they don't have to sweat that.\n"It also can motivate the teams that have the crowds there," he said.\nGreek houses also have to deal with the pressures of history, Calhoun said. \n"Some of the independent teams have going for them that there's not this built up pressure," he said. "I would say that the majority of teams, they're just doing their thing. There's not this huge 'we must win every year.'"\nThough they don't have to battle the pressures of a fan base or history, independent teams struggle to find equipment. Whereas greek houses can store training equipment from year to year, independent teams come and go -- and with them goes their equipment. \n"There's not this residual build up," Calhoun said of training equipment. \nHe said business sponsors allow independents to compete with the financial advantage greek houses have. \n"When you find a sponsor that backs you, it does help because it allows you to get equipment and hopefully build a foundation," Calhoun said.\nWithout a strong contingent, a Little 500 history and a lot of financial resources, independent teams can be dubbed that U-word, Calhoun said.\n"It allows them to be the underdog," he said.\nErik Styacich of Phi Kappa Psi disagrees. \n"The past five winners of the race have been independents," Styacich said. "I don't consider them underdogs anymore."\nDodds House rider Chris Chartier said he doesn't know if the independents can claim underdog status anymore. \nAfter two championships in the past 10 years, Chartier said he thinks Dodds House is more like a fraternity than people think, especially given its ties to Wright Quad.\n"Even though it seems greek-dominated from the outside, the riders on Greek teams are just like us," he said. "They have a house behind them, but so do we. Cutters has just as many fans. I think cyclists are more similar than people may think, whether they're in a greek house or not."\nWithin the greek system exists a rivalry between the different houses.\nAlpha Phi rider Katie Thompson said race day is still "an issue of pride." \n"What's unique about riding for our sorority is we're all proud to ride for our chapter," Thompson said. "We live with 100 girls, and each day we have 100 girls ask us, 'how was practice?'" \nEven if a greek team can't win the race, Styacich said there is still competition among the fraternities. \n"It's about greek pride still," he said. "You ride for your house. Our house has had a tradition since 1951. It's part of something that's bigger than you."\nAnd, like the rivalry that exists between the greek houses, a rivalry has developed between the greeks and the independents.\n"There's obviously the competition," Styacich said. "The greek guys want to do better than the independent guys, want to prove they're better."\nReicke too acknowledged the competition. \n"I like having a general competition of sorority versus independent," she said. "There's nothing against them; I am so glad we can all compete fairly against each other."\nBut she doesn't think the rivalry is that big. \n"For me, it shouldn't really be this huge," she said. "I love being friends with the sorority girls. To me, it's just a whole bunch of teams racing together"