On Monday, Oct. 7, 740 people attended Lee’s 31st annual Dorm Wars held in the Paul Dana Walker Arena. Lee family and friends watched and cheered as the residence halls Hicks-Brinsfield, male; Atkins-Ellis, traditional female; and Keeble-Dirksen, upperclass female; were crowned the 2024 champions.     

Atkins-Ellis had a long-awaited victory, reclaiming the title of Dorm Wars champions for the first time in 10 years. Keeble-Dirksen secured the title for a second year, while Hicks-Brinsfield won for the third year in a row.  

“I love Dorm Wars because it is one of many examples of how the Lee community rallies around creating a great experience for students,” said Rocky Walker, director of Residential Life and Housing. “In addition to the many offices required to make this event a reality, including Residential Life & Housing, tech crew, media services, athletics, and physical plant, we had 30 different faculty and staff volunteers helping during the event. Their efforts, along with the excellent work put in by our students, makes Dorm Wars an incredible event that I am proud to be a part of!”  

The evening events kicked off with the introduction of student hype squads and choreographed dances from each residence hall. The residence hall teams then competed in the traditional shopping cart and obstacle course relays. The competition concluded with this year’s mystery event—a relay, involving three tasks that competitors had to work their way through in order to reach the finish line. These obstacles included the unfolding of a frozen T-shirt, the retrieval of flashlight parts and its subsequent assembly, and a group activity in which students had to work together to solve a color puzzle.   

“It’s incredible that after 31 years, Lee’s annual Dorm Wars event continues to command such a high level of excitement among our student body,” said Dr. Suzanne Holt, vice president for Student Life and Success. “Faculty, staff and students come together as dorm coaches, sponsors, referees and competitors for a single night of crazy fun and friendly competition.”  

This year, all the participating dorms worked together to raise funds for United Way of the Ocoee Region, an organization committed to improving lives by breaking the cycle of poverty, meeting immediate basic needs, and building pathways to a healthy community.  

“Lee University is one of our most long-standing and consistent partners,” said Blaire Deacon, representative for United Way of the Ocoee Region. “In addition to their workplace campaign, a number of Lee team members volunteer during Day of Action, collect tips during Celebrity Bagging to benefit our Community Campaign, and participate in custom volunteer and fundraising opportunities, including this year’s exciting Dorm Wars. Many of our United Way staff are proud alumni who cherish their student experiences at Lee, and we are truly honored to be chosen as the beneficiary of this year’s event proceeds!”  

To watch the live stream of Dorm Wars 2024 visit leeu.live.