The competitive spirit that comes with a new football season isn’t just limited to the boundaries of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
If UF wins this year’s "What Colors Do You Bleed?" LifeSouth Community Blood Centers competition, the university will have bragging rights over the University of Tennessee, said Laura Bialeck, community development coordinator for LifeSouth North Florida.
For the past six years, UF hasn’t won the competition, which started again Monday and will continue until Friday, Bialeck said.
Since the competition launched, UF has struggled to be on the winning side — with the exception of one victory in 2008, she said. UF generally falls short by about 100 donors each year, and in last year’s competition, UF had about 1,200 donors while Tennessee had about 1,300. Bialeck said she isn’t sure why Tennessee always wins but said it might be their community’s awareness of blood drives and support for the cause. She said she hopes to see a shift in this year’s donation outcomes with the encouragement of new student participation.
"Having this competition in the Fall is an opportunity for new students at UF to be introduced to us," she said.
On-campus and Greek organizations can earn spirit points for Dance Marathon if they donate during the competition, Bialeck said.
Bruce Yang, a 21-year-old biomedical engineering junior, has donated blood seven times since he started college. He said he will donate in the competition because he is in Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, which will be awarded points.
"I did it for the points," he said.
When he decided to donate, Yang said he wasn’t thinking about the competition with UF and Tennessee.
Though the Gators haven’t beaten the Vols in several years, Bialeck said the competition is still a large contributor to helping LifeSouth meet the needs of the community.
The event brings in more blood donations than any other event, even more than the Greek Blood Drive. UF students represent about a quarter of donors in Gainesville, Bialeck said.
"We count on the students for this district," she said.
LifeSouth Bloodmobiles will be at the Hub, Turlington Plaza, Little Hall, Sorority Row, Fraternity Row and Gator Corner Dining Center throughout the competition. Students can follow the event on Facebook, Bialeck said, where LifeSouth will post donation updates every morning.
Alligator Staff Writer Giuseppe Saballa contributed to this article.
A bloodmobile is parked on the North Lawn behind the Hub on Sept. 14, 2015.