This month, students on the University of Notre Dame campus will experience a new kind of dorm energy competition. will match up dorms in head-to-head competitions to see which residence hall can implement the most energy-saving practices. Dorm match-ups will rotate each week. The competition runs for three weeks, from Feb. 4 (Monday) through Feb. 24 (Sunday), giving every dorm a good shot at being a winner.
“Each dorm gets to start over and play a new opponent each week, so the structure of the competition really keeps students engaged,” says Kate Christian, vice president of , which is sponsoring the competition. “At the end of the competition, your dorm will have a menu of prizes to choose from if a hall has won one, two or all three competitions. The more wins, the bigger the prize.”
The grand prize options for three-time winners include a tour of Notre Dame Stadium for the entire dorm, a frozen yogurt party, and a movie night at Browning Cinema.
“I like that dorms are competing against other dorms from the same era, because it really levels the playing field,” says Elizabeth Callam, co-president of , which is co-sponsoring the competition. “The brackets are also great because there are more winners and everyone is more motivated to save energy.”
Brackets are available at green.nd.edu/madness. The website also shows real-time energy usage by each dorm and competition standings, along with tips to help save energy.
The , is co-sponsoring the competition, along with the , , , and the Athletics Department.
“Developing this competition has been a really collaborative process,” says Brianna Kunycky, president of GreeND. “We’re thrilled to have so many partners around campus sponsoring prizes and helping us make Megawatt Madness a success.”