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Sigma Chis on Trojans' team
bode well for
2021 season
by Chase Praeger
AU 2021 Annotator
"Sigma Chi was one of the best
decisions I've made." Jude Wolfe
The 2021 Trojan football team will likely feature several Sigma Chi rising stars who will carry over from the nine brothers on last season's team.
Even though the 2020 season had a disappointing ending, most of the nine brothers on that team are young enough to compete to be on next year's Trojan football team,
This is the story of how a USC football player, who knew nothing about Greek Life, found a special bond outside of football. Jude Wolfe, a Trojan tight end from St. John Bosco High School views Sigma Chi as a vital part of his USC experience. And one that he expects will last a lifetime.
“Joining Sigma Chi was one of the best decisions I've made since being in college,” said Wolfe, who completed his pledgeship and was initiated in February just before the pandemic hit. “I felt that Sigma Chi offered me many opportunities that I would otherwise never be able to experience. Having little free time, it becomes difficult to meet new people and expand your network.”
Brother Wolfe is one of nine Sigma Chis, as well as a Sigma Chi social member, on the
Trojan football team right now – a strong continuation of Alpha Upsilon’s proud history of Trojan football players. Ten men with ties to Alpha Upsilon on this USC team.
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But I’ve gotten to know Jude well because he
was in my pledge class. He’s a truly protective
brother, a lighthearted jokester and an integral part of revitalizing a culture of consistently winning teams with the USC football program.
Brother Wolfe shares some firsthand insight into Trojan football.
“I believe the constant emphasis on competition is what drives the culture in the USC football program,” Wolfe explains. “By competing with not only your teammates across from you, but guys also within your own position group, it brings the best out of each of us. We can go out on the practice field and fight like dogs for a couple hours a day, but then come back in the locker room as friends knowing that we are getting each other better. When we are all competing, we are all growing and developing.”
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BROTHERS ON THE TEAM
Most are young enough to return next season
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Jude Wolfe - Tight End
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Britton "Bam" Allen - Safety
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Will Rose - Kicker
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Matt Fink - Quarterback
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Brett Neilon - Center
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Scott Voigt - Tight End
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Clyde Moore - Linebacker
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Mark Zuvich - Center
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Sean Mahoney - Tight End
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Bru McCoy* - Wide Receiver​ * social member​​​
Did you know?
That three of our chapter founders were also on the original Trojan football team in 1889?
Starting Center Brett Neilon, a junior, leads the nine Sigma Chi brothers on the Trojan football team
Trojan quarterback Matt Fink
Safety Briton "Bam" Allen, junior
Senior Tight end walk-on Scott Voight
Clyde Moore, linebacker, redshirt freshman
Sigma Chi social member Bru McCoy
Sean Mahoney (right) is a 6-5, 230-pound freshman Tight End
The 6-foot, 5-inch, 250-pound redshirt freshman from Laguna Hills is getting rave reviews from across the college football landscape. The CBS Sports headline blared “Jude Wolfe has really matured and is the future of the Trojan tight end room.” He actually graduated high school a semester early and immediately enrolled at USC in the spring 2019.
Sigma Chi can help the team usher in a new dynasty of winning because the teams that consistently compete for championships are usually the closest off the field. As more and more USC football players join Sigma Chi and truly get to know each other off the field, it makes the team closer on another level where players can’t wait to see each other in the locker room.
In talking with Jude and Britton “Bam” Allen, they explain that this is a huge focus on both sides of the ball. The players who are truly brothers with each other show up for big moments and are consistent week in and week out. Bam always talks about idolizing former SC defensive legends who were not only known for their amazing play, but for making the USC locker room and campus a place you never want to leave.
I asked our brothers in the football program what is USC’s biggest barrier to producing a consistent championship contender like Clemson or Ohio State.
“I’d say consistently dominating each opponent is what separates the playoff teams each year from the rest of college football,” says Wolfe. “When a team is able to go out and perform at a very high level on a weekly basis, amidst everything that can occur in a season, it is a very impressive feat. The duration of a season can make or break a team, and the ability to play great football every week is what I believe separates them.”
To break through the consistent top five teams, SC will need to make a statement with its own performance because, unlike teams in the SEC, the Trojans don’t frequently play a ranked team.
Again, a big part of being consistent and making a statement every week is building a culture where players can’t wait to be at practice, watch film, and hang out with each other. Although it seems like a job, you have to fall in love with the process and the people you encounter in and out of football. Even showing up for meals at Sigma Chi, you can see how much the guys care about the football team. Sigma Chi players can feel how much excellence matters and it actually inspires and refreshes them.
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“I felt that Sigma Chi offered me many opportunities that I would otherwise never be able to experience,” says Wolfe. “Having little free time, it becomes difficult to meet
Will Rose, redshirt freshman punter
Mark Zuvich, offensive lineman, sophomore
new people and expand your network. One of the main reasons I chose to come to USC was because of the Trojan Family, and how much the members of it look out for one another.”
He says Sigma Chi “has given me the opportunity to create many friendships, the house is a safe place for me away from the football facility, and the personal growth I made during my pledge semester has given me a true change of perspective of Greek Life.”
One of the biggest reasons that players come to SC is not just for football but the whole ecosystem of the Trojan family. Being involved at Sigma Chi allows players to meet amazing people throughout the school who are just as motivated as they are but in differing pursuits. Whether it is meeting entrepreneurs in the house, musicians, artists, or other athletes, they can see the weight of the Trojan family outside of football. Sigma Chi isn’t just a group of social college students but an ecosystem of amazing connections and really talented people from all walks of life. For many USC football players, this is the first time they actually start to get excited about life after football.
