Harrison Hawke, a junior political science major and member of DKE, said the award was based on the key components of scholarship, community service, chapter improvement and alumni relations. Though the fraternity did not win first in every one of the categories, Hawke said the group received at least second in each aspect of the criteria.

"Basically you have individual categories and then the highest ranking overall wins," Hawke said.

The category that the group won first place in was a good alumni base, Hawke said. He said because the fraternity consistently produces good alumni, the strong relationship will only continue to grow.

"It's good as alumni to say that you won a Lion's Trophy at Alabama," Hawke said.

The fraternity's community service is another component of which Hawke said the group is proud. He said the members volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and the Tuscaloosa Police Department. One of their upcoming events, Hawke said, is a Halloween party for inner-city children of Tuscaloosa. Additionally, the group throws a Christmas party for inner-city children each year.

Another aspect that set the University's DKE chapter apart from other chapters is improvement from last year, Hawke said. He said the committee considers GPA standings compared with other fraternities on campus. To further fulfill the criteria, Hawke said the fraternity seeks pledges from all over the South.

"We try to get a wide diversity of people," he said.

John McNeil, the chapter alumni adviser and member of the DKE international board of directors, said the fraternity is unique because they are able to achieve all the things that are required of them, such as getting pledges and keeping a broad base of alumni. He said the leadership capabilities in the house surpassed those of all the chapters from the United States and Canada.

"There was no one even close to what they had achieved," McNeil said. "It was very impressive to alumni to see that."

McNeil also said one of the fraternity's biggest events has become the children's Halloween party.

"Everyone enjoys that because they get to give back so much more than they receive," he said.

Winning the Lion's Trophy was an opportunity for the UA DKEs to show, through community service and campus involvement, that their main priority is not partying all the time, McNeil said.

"There's more to them than just having a party every weekend," he said.

A special award ceremony was held for DKE during Homecoming weekend. McNeil said more than 160 alumni were present for the event.

DKE is not the only UA fraternity to win its highest award this year.

This summer, the UA chapter of Theta Chi received the Howard R. Alter Jr. Award for chapter excellence, the highest award any chapter of the fraternity can receive nationally. The group had to fulfill the national fraternity's standards for scholarship, recruitment, campus involvement, social involvement, risk management and chapter finances to win the award.