UT Martin’s Pike Fights are back.
After a two-year pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the university’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity will host the 31st annual Craig Long Memorial Pike Fights at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, at 119 School St. in Dresden, Tennessee.
The event is being held in Dresden this year because the fraternity chose to donate the proceeds to disaster relief efforts in Dresden, which was badly damaged by an EF-3 tornado during the Dec. 10, 2021, tornado outbreak in Tennessee and Kentucky. Pi Kappa Alpha members said they hoped the event would highlight Dresden’s needs and bring people and business to the community.
Previously, proceeds from Pike Fights have been donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. In 2019, the event generated about $7,000 for donation, and Pi Kappa Alpha is working to raise even more money during the 2022 event to provide aid locally, which helps a neighboring community meet the needs of residents and businesses seriously affected by the December storms.
