Senior Mike Fiore had a dream — a dream filled with Solo cups and ping-pong balls, lukewarm beer, bruised egos and a lot of bros. Fiore’s dream: a beer pong league.

In the fall of 2004, Fiore founded a 16-team league complete with playoffs, T-shirts and an MVP trophy for the player with the most last cups hit.

The seeds were planted in high school when Fiore visited his brother in college and saw they kept a running tally of wins and losses. So when his Ithaca College basketball career ended sophomore year, the mad scientist in Fiore went to work.

“I needed the competition,” the sport management major said.

That fall Fiore registered 16 teams for the league’s inaugural season. It didn’t take long to realize he’d struck gold.

“There was skepticism at first,” he said. “Not anymore.”

Three semesters later, Fiore upped the ante, creating four divisions (split up geographically, of course) and a 48-game schedule. He also updates the league’s standings on its Facebook group page almost daily.

“I like to think I am to beer pong what Abe Lincoln was to civil rights,” he said.

Better time spent might include reading Freud, watching foreign films or actually assisting in the ongoing civil rights struggle — or at least something that doesn’t promote competitive binge drinking.

“It’s not about that, though,” Fiore said. “It’s about spending time with the bros.”

It’s men’s league softball for college kids — intramurals plus booze. It’s the competition of varsity athletics without the varsity or the athletics.

“All the athleticism you need is to drink your beer when you lose,” Fiore said.

But there is a skill to standing at a table a little tipsy with 15 bros chanting, and every game oozes with the feeling of former high school athletes reliving their glory days.

Senior Preston Clinton has been a part of the league for all three of its semesters, and he insists there are values that go along with the bro-ing.

“At first, I thought of it as something that just scared away girls,” he said. “But the league really has taught me patience, teamwork and friendship.”

And winning the league?  Well, it’s nice to be the king of the jungle.  

“It says something when you can be the man out of all your bros,” senior Tom Applegate said.

As for Fiore, he was asked the most creative thing he has ever done at a job interview last month.

“Created a beer pong league,” he answered.

The rest of his bros couldn’t agree more.