T-shirts were the stakes of a bet over the Army ROTC Alpine Climbing Tower between Army and Air Force ROTC division colonels.

Whichever division had the most people climb the tower would win the satisfaction of seeing the other division donning its T-shirts for a week.

As of Sunday, numbers were not yet final as Capt. Dan Runyon, the Army ROTC Enrollment Officer, worked to confirm the counts.

“It looks like Air Force is in the lead,” he said.

T-shirts may not seem like a major bet to non-ROTC members, but it’s a big deal to the losing side.

“It’s kind of embarrassing for that side,” Runyon said.

Both the Air Force and the Army ROTC had plenty of extra T-shirts lined up to supply the other division for the week, he said.

Lt. Col. Marvin Meek of the Army ROTC and Col. Kenneth Schindele came up with the idea and the terms of the bet, said Runyon.

Air Force Capt. Alexandra Greenfield, adjunct assistant professor in Air Force aerospace studies, said she feels very strongly about the bet because of her husband’s involvement in the Army ROTC program.

“There ain’t no way I’m wearing a stinking Army shirt,” she said. “Air Force is going to kick butt!”

At the end of the day Friday, the Army was expected to have the edge, Runyon said.

The Army ROTC class was required to come out and climb on Friday afternoon and provided part of that edge.

However, the Air Force had a similar deal for those who climbed, said Theresa Weber, junior in exercise and sport science and Army ROTC member.

The Air Force members who climb get points, she said.

“It’s about the same,” Weber said.

Weber helped climbers into harnesses and saw quite a few Air Force people come through. However, on Friday she was confident Army would prevail.

“We are going to win by no doubt,” she said.

Though the tower was part of a ROTC bet, it was also open, and popular, with civilians.

Six hundred people made it to the top of the 55 foot tower this weekend, Runyon said.

The crowds were expected to be in the thousands, Runyon said.

“We can put up 400 to 500 a day,” he said.

It was a tough climb for Daniel Bolin, sophomore in dairy science, especially up onto the platform at the top he said.

“I was just hanging by two hands and had to pull my body up,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of weight to pull up.”

Jay Breitsameter, freshman in pre-business, came out for a reason other than the challenge.

“The free stuff” is what drew him to the tower, he said.

Each person could fill out an information card for the ROTC to receive a bag of goodies, including an Army ROTC T-shirt.

Regardless of the bet, Runyon was satisfied ROTC met its goal of getting more people exposed to the program.

“It was a success all the way around,” Runyon said.