Emily Dunford ’26

by Emily Dunford ’26 on November 10, 2023

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Friars Club and the Providence College Board of Programmers held their first Pink Bowl on Oct. 15 for breast cancer awareness. The event was a co-ed flag football game that placed the two clubs head-to-head.

         Friars Club is one of the oldest clubs at PC, tasked with promoting scholarship as well as working as representatives of PC around campus. The members can be spotted on campus giving tours or working events such as hockey games and admissions events while wearing their iconic white blazers.

         PC’s Board of Programmers, also known as BOP, has a similar mission of promoting campus life at PC by planning events for students. Some events planned by BOP include the spring concert, the Newport trip, Tuesday Timeouts, and many others on campus.

         “The Friars Club vs. BOP rivalry is ingrained in both organizations’ legacies. Although we are objectively superior in all relevant aspects, I do respect many of my friends across the aisle,” said Friars Club member Mike Stamatis ’26.

The two clubs hold an annual softball game against each other in the spring semester that leads to bragging rights for the following year. The Pink Bowl was held for the first time this year and was open to the public to attend as well as fundraising for charity. The bowl was planned by Greg Assad ’24 and Kevin Sullivan ’24 of Friars Club with Myles Johnson ’24 and Rob Autiello ’24 of BOP who worked collaboratively to plan the game. Myles Johnson is the president of BOP and was proud to help host the event: “I’m happy we were able to come together for a good cause and start something that both clubs can be proud of. As far as our performance, I’m glad our quarterback, Spencer, and I brought the Halloween atmosphere by scaring the defense all night — they called me 7/11 because I was always open out there.” 

Friars club was also happy to present the Pink Bowl. “It was so great to see both clubs come together to schedule the game, design t-shirts, bring in food trucks, and most importantly raise over $4,000 towards Breast Cancer awareness. The game itself was very competitive and a blast to play in. I thought the Pink Bowl was a huge success and I hope this becomes an annual tradition,” Friars Club member Assad ’24 said.

The bowl, hosted during Breast Cancer Awareness month, donated all proceeds from the game to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Members of the club shared fundraising squares to their personal social media accounts to raise money and those who donated and showed up to the game received a free T-shirt. Over $4,000 was raised by the two clubs.

“The first Pink Bowl flag football game was spirited with tons of effort from both sides. BOP put their hearts into the game, and we are so excited that the event raised more than $4,200 dollars for the National Breast Cancer Foundation,” BOP member Hannah Strott ’26 said.

The game was held as a way to fundraise as well as to make the clubs known to new members of campus. It was held at Hendricken Field and was open for the public to attend. Ming’s and Lulu’s Little Pancakes food trucks were at the game as well. Advertisements for the game were shared on social media as well as around campus. Like intramural games played at PC, the game was structured as a co-ed flag football game. It was a close game with Friars Club winning 22–20.

“Seeing the excitement and camaraderie from our Friars Club members was amazing. The game was close and the energy was high. The best part of it all was that we were able to beat BOP and add another trophy to our Friars Club office,” Friars Club Member Sullivan said.

             Though Friars Club won bragging rights for the first Pink Bowl, the game was played in good fun while supporting a cause that is important to many.