On March 28, the Pitzer basketball court buzzed as students gathered to watch the third annual Dean Chris Classic (DCC). The 4v4 streetball tournament, hosted by the LAC Tournament and Event Planning Supervisor, was an opportunity for 5C students and faculty to celebrate basketball and bond as a community. Students danced to blaring EDM and pop music while the DJ himself offered commentary, elevating the competitive spirit around the court.
“[The DCC] was really fun,” organizing committee member Sam O’Dowd PZ ’29 said. “I was really happy to see the whole community come out here supporting basketball.”
The DCC drew inspiration from the physical education course “Dean Chris’s Thursday Night Basketball,” which was started nearly 25 years ago at Harvey Mudd by Chris Sundberg, the Associate Dean of Students and the Director of Campus Life at Harvey Mudd. To his students, Sundberg is known simply as “DC.” Two alums of the class, Bryce Bailey HM ’25 and Charlie Morris PZ ’25 CG ’26, used their experience in the class to found the DCC in 2024.
The basketball tournament features a 4v4, 16-team, single-elimination bracket, alongside fan events such as the 3-point contest, half-court shot challenge, dunk contest, a new “king of the court” competition and, for the first time, an accompanying beach volleyball tournament. In past iterations, the DCC was hosted at the indoor courts of the Mudd Linde Activities Center (LAC), but this year’s organizers moved it to the Pitzer outdoor courts to open the event to more 5C students.
“Charlie really wanted to make it big this year. We really wanted to make it a 5C event,” O’Dowd said, after watching the games unfold on the courts. “And I think it really ended up like that. The games have been over for a while, and we still have like 50 people out here just hanging out having a good time.”
Will Householter CM ’27, a returning player, believed this year’s big turnout boosted energy on the court and throughout games, particularly in the championship.
“I thought it was fun. I thought [the championship] was a super competitive game, similar to the feeling of the PP-CMS rivalry,” Householter said. “Even though [DCC] is not like a big athletic event, the energy was just as good, with people talking shit back and forth and it being super physical.”
The inclusion of a new beach volleyball tournament was a great success, according to Sundberg.
“This year [Morris] incorporated a volleyball tournament, which was well done,” Sundberg said. “I think that even the fun factor was higher overall when I watched it a bit. They really had fun, and we just kind of did that on a whim, [even though] we just weren’t sure how that was gonna work out.”
A second-chance tournament was also added to give early-eliminated teams another opportunity to compete. The winner of this conciliation tournament would earn a chance to play the Dean Chris Faculty Team before the main championship game.
“In last year’s DCC, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding early exits, fouling without consequence and the bleeding of the clock in late game scenarios,” Morris said. “Dean Chris came up with the incredible idea of offering a ‘Second Chance Showdown’ at Harvey Mudd’s LAC, where teams who are eliminated early on could battle it out to earn their way back into the spotlight against Dean Chris’ legendary faculty team.”
For those like O’Dowd, this tournament not only brought 5C students closer together through sports but also improved the faculty-student relationship.
“[sundberg] is out here hanging out with people all the time,” O’Dowd said. “It definitely helps to have people like Dean Chris in our community, as adults, who are showing us how to be really good people in the future while still having fun and playing basketball.”
Morris echoed the foundational role Sundberg plays within the 5C community, as reflected in the Dean’s impressive performance.
“Dean Chris’ game-winning 3-pointer in the faculty championship game was poetic,” Morris said. “Anyone who knows DC likely recognizes his flashy passing and facilitating, but when it came down to game point, he had to take matters into his own hands. Absolutely insane.”
Looking back on the tournament’s evolution from its humble beginnings as a Thursday night tradition to a now highly-attended campus-wide event, Morris said the DCC holds “a special place in [his] heart as a graduating senior.”
“While a few hiccups were always expected, this year’s tournament felt like the culmination of years of experimentation and refinement, from the planning and structure to the execution and overall flow of the event,” Morris said. “Everything came together with just the right amount of chaos.”
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