Students criticized for inhaling your food, unite: You now have a home in the nation’s first collegiate-level competitive eating club.

With “Feed the Turtle” as its motto, the Competitive Eating Club Team became university-recognized just two weeks ago and has since garnered national attention from such media outlets as The Washington Post, ESPN and AOL News for its outlandish premise. The idea, however, came into being years ago, said senior communication major Ryan Hiken, the club’s vice president.

“It started as a fun thing we used to do with our extra dining points to see who could eat the most,” he said. “It’s just guys being guys, trying to be all competitive.”

About 20 pizzas and copious servings of chicken wings later, the dining hall champion would be crowned, club President Keith Solomon said.

“Those pizzas were really, really greasy, so it was kind of disgusting,” the junior environmental engineering major said. “Hopefully now that we have the team started up, we’ll be able to invest in some better pizzas.”

And with a membership of more than 30 eaters — specializing in everything from movie-theater popcorn and Ramen noodles to string cheese and eating with chopsticks — the club is ready to separate the fast from the champions in an eating time trial Friday.

“We’re looking for speed, and we’re looking for endurance,” Solomon said.

But as the first eating club at a university, members are forced to view one another as competition — a problem Solomon and Hiken hope to change soon.

“We didn’t realize we were the only school to have this,” Hiken said. “We’re trying to get other schools to start one.”

Naturally, the group’s first targeted rival is Duke University. Hiken said he tried giving The Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper, a call Tuesday.

“We wanted to get our article in the Duke paper, so they could see it and challenge us,” he said. The newspaper declined the offer.

But Solomon said the club has had some success in spreading its competitive eating spirit to other parts of the nation, as students at other schools — such as the University of Wisconsin — have contacted him about the team.

“The ultimate goal is to have a national championship here in May with all the teams we get from around the country,” Solomon said.

But to be the best of the best, the team must practice. Because the group is still organizing, regular practice dates and the method they’ll use are yet to be determined, Solomon said.

But Solomon said individuals can practice techniques to increase their appetites.

“You could swallow whole grapes before you eat — supposedly it expands your stomach,” Solomon said. “A lot of it is working out. … A lot of it is staying in shape.”

Team unity is also imperative, Hiken said.

“We’re going to act like we’re a real team; that’s our goal,” he said. “We’re the first of our kind, so we have to set the stage for everyone else and hope people follow.”

But not everyone who has heard of the club has become an avid follower.

“We’ve gotten some negative feedback, people saying we’re gluttonous,” Hiken said.

He added that the group would like to raise money or collect canned goods for a homeless shelter.

“It’s not just about us stuffing our faces, but it’s also about giving back to the community,” Hiken said.

Although the team may have been born out of the food-frenzy challenges of his friends, the club’s ultimate goal is less competitive, Hiken said.

“I don’t think anyone likes to lose. The motivation is always to win, even when we’re competing with each other,” Hiken said. “But there’s really no point in doing it if it’s not fun. … We’re just doing this for fun.”

roubein at umdbk dot com