CASA Encore 2026, a Greek life charity event held on Thursday, Oct. 8, raised over $500,0000 for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Northern Mississippi. Alpha Omicron Pi won the overall champion title for the third year in a row and also won the philanthropy award for the third year in a row.
All eleven UM Panhellenic sororities competed in an evening of dancing and fundraising at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion, with each sorority presenting a banner and a dance according to a chosen theme.
Alpha Phi won this year’s banner competition, with Phi Mu and Pi Beta Phi earning the first and second runner-up spots, respectively. The 2026 dance champion was Kappa Delta, which performed a routine inspired by The Wizard of Oz.
Alpha Omicron Pi dancing routine during CASA. Photo by Charlie Slusher.
Pi Beta Phi came in second place in the dance competition, performing a Madagascar-themed dance, and Delta Gamma came in third with its Las-Vegas-inspired act.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council performed a step dance routine following all 11 College Panhellenic Council sorority numbers, with synchronized footwork, rhythmic clapping and energetic chanting. The NPHC’s performance was a sample of the full Homecoming Step Show which will be held on Oct. 10 in the Ford Center.
“It’s my favorite time of year,” Mia Hodge, a senior exercise science major from Madison, Miss., and strike captain of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, said. “It’s a great event. When the NPHC comes and we can perform and give back to these children, it’s such a blessing.”
The winners were announced alongside the grand fundraising total — a record-breaking $514,491.
Erin Smith, the founding executive director of CASA of North Mississippi, spoke at CASA Encore to offer insight into the organization’s work.
“We recruit, train and supervise volunteers through pre-service training and get sworn in by a judge and assigned to court cases involving children who have been moved from their home due to abuse or neglect,” Smith said.
An alum of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and University of Mississippi, Smith said she was incredibly grateful for the continued support of the UM College Panhellenic Council in her organization’s mission.
CASA Encore was originally an event hosted by Kappa Alpha Theta at the university. When Kappa Alpha Theta closed its chapter at UM in 2018, the College Panhellenic Council carried on the tradition.
Her opening remarks lauded the work of CASA volunteers in helping 130 children across 72 cases and expressed appreciation for the hard work of the UM sororities in organizing donations of blood, groceries, clothes, and school supplies. CASA has expanded, Smith said, now serving three counties in Northern Mississippi due in no small part to the help from CASA Encore fundraising.
“We’re truly very thankful for all the time, the effort, and all the times they went to practice or asked for money when they didn’t want to,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of children we wouldn’t be helping if it weren’t for these women.”
