Alpha Epsilon Phi is starting a new tradition this year: PHI HOOPS.

PHI HOOPS is a charitable 5-on-5 basketball tournament. The tournament will take place at the Jewish Community Center located at 500 Clubhouse Rd. in Vestal on Saturday, March 14 at noon.

The event will occur in honor of Stefanie Rieger, a sister of the sorority who graduated from BU in May 2008. Rieger was diagnosed with colon cancer this past summer and passed away on Friday, February 27.

“We really hope that the event is a success, and that many people participate so this tournament will become a tradition,” said Abby Garfinkel, an accounting graduate student and member of Alpha Epsilon Phi.

The sorority has been reaching out to all students and encouraging them to participate and make a donation in Rieger’s name. They hope to make $2,000 at this event.

“We are hoping to have a 16-team bracket with 20-minute games,” Lindsay Puchalsky, the co-coordinator of PHI HOOPS and member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, said. “The final game is going to be a half-hour game with a halftime show by the International Flag Dancers (IFD).”

This year, the money from the event will be going toward the Variety Child Learning Center.

“Raising funds for this foundation has a strong meaning to our sorority,” Garfinkel added.

Alpha Epsilon Phi is in charge of the entire event and responsible for everything from the planning to the fees involved, including advertising and renting the gymnasium.

Nicole DeFalco, a senior accounting major, Jessica Goldstein, a senior English major, and Puchalsky, a senior accounting major, were mainly responsible for coordinating the event.

Because this is the first year of the event, the sorority is unsure of how many members will participate or come to the event.

“We’re hoping that most of Greek life is in attendance and that the event draws attention to people outside of Greek life,” Garfinkel said.

Puchalsky agreed with Garfinkel, and added that they “are working with many fraternities, as well as sports teams to make this event a success.”

Each team registers seven people and pays an entrance fee of $175 per team. Tickets for spectators will be $3 per person, and donations will be accepted at the door.

“With March Madness right around the corner, we figured this would be a great time to host this philanthropic event!” Garfinkel said.

The deadline for sign ups is March 7. If the goal of 16 teams isn’t reached by then, the sorority will probably be accepting more teams.

Students interested in participating in PHI HOOPS should contact Abby Garfinkel at agarfin1@gmail.com or Lindsay Pulchalsky at lpuchalsky@gmail.com as soon as possible.