When Brother Mike Tobin (Arizona State) reached the top of the world this past May, the summit of Mount Everest wasn’t the only thing on his mind. Standing at 29,032 feet above sea level, Tobin dropped to the snow and performed 22 push-ups—one for each American veteran who loses his life to suicide every day.
For the veteran journalist and alumnus of the Zeta Upsilon Chapter, the climb was more than a personal milestone. It was a platform to deliver a message of care and solidarity, especially to those struggling silently. “I’m not a counselor or an expert,” Tobin explained. “But if I can let a guy know that I was as deep as you can go into the death zone and I still took the time to do something symbolic like the push-ups, maybe he gets the message that somebody gives a damn about him. That might be enough to help him make a different choice.”
Brotherhood in the Desert
Before Tobin was a Fox News senior correspondent based in Chicago, covering wars, disasters, and political upheaval, he was a young man at Arizona State University looking for connection. Sigma Nu provided it.
“I think Kevin [my older brother] gets a lot of credit for saving the chapter when it was in a lean membership period,” Tobin recalled. “He did a big recruitment push and kept the chapter on the map.” Following in his brother’s footsteps, Tobin joined the Zeta Upsilon Chapter in 1987.
The friendships he formed remain some of the deepest bonds in his life. “The Fall ’87 group is still really tight,” he said. “They were all at my wedding a couple of years ago, and [we got] together again this summer at a lake house in Wisconsin owned by one of the brothers. Even through my career in local TV and beyond, I always knew they were rooting for me. Those friendships are lifelong.”
For Tobin, the enduring support of his brothers exemplifies the timeless promise of Sigma Nu, that the bonds built in college extend into life’s most important moments.
A Journalist’s Climb
Tobin’s fascination with Everest began decades before he set foot on the mountain. As a young reporter, he covered the infamous 1996 Everest disaster, which claimed multiple lives. Far from discouraging him, that tragedy deepened his interest in high-altitude climbing.
Over the years, Tobin tackled major peaks across the globe: in the Alps, throughout South America, including the 22,837-foot Aconcagua and Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, the sixth-highest mountain in the world. Twice, he had Everest expeditions lined up, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to derail them. He assumed the dream had passed.
Then, in 2024, opportunity called. “A guy from Alpenglow Expeditions reached out to say they had a spot. I asked my wife, and she gave me the green light,” he said. With that blessing, Tobin threw himself into training.
His preparation was grueling and inventive. He added weight training, hauling sandbags up the Indiana dunes and climbing the steep incline of a ski jump hill in Illinois with a heavy pack. His wife’s support was unwavering. “She made picnic lunches, took care of the dog, and just supported me the whole way,” he said.
On the Mountain
Nothing, however, could fully prepare him for the enormity of Everest itself. “As soon as you lay eyes on Everest, there’s no question you’re looking at the biggest mountain in the world. It just hangs over you,” Tobin said.
Climbing Everest requires patience. Weeks are spent acclimating, hiking, resting, and letting the body build up red blood cells before attempting higher altitudes. About two and a half weeks into the climb, Tobin’s team finally arrived at the North Col. After a night at 23,000 feet without oxygen to test themselves, the team descended for rest before launching the final summit attempt.
When the window opened, conditions were nearly ideal. “According to our expedition leader, who has summited ten times, we got one of the best weather days in 20 years,” Tobin recalled. “The air was calm at the summit. The only disappointment was that a cloud rolled in, so I didn’t get the panoramic Himalayan view.”
Still, what Tobin did at the top mattered more than what he saw. Dropping to the ground, he honored America’s veterans with a set of push-ups, an act both symbolic and grueling in the thin air of the death zone.
Climbing for a Cause
Tobin has long worked with veterans through endurance events such as the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and the Pikes Peak Challenge with the Disabled Veterans National Foundation. As an athlete, he believes in the therapeutic value of physical challenge.
“A guy who’s out getting after it isn’t in the house getting deeper into his depression,” he said. His Everest push-ups were less about “raising awareness” and more about sending a direct message: someone cares.
That simple message, he hopes, might help someone on the brink choose life instead.
Lessons from Sigma Nu
Asked how Sigma Nu has influenced his career, Tobin is quick to draw a connection. “Sigma Nu taught me how to take an idea from start to finish. In college, leadership often just gets dropped in your lap and you have to figure it out. In journalism, stories work the same way. You get a one-line pitch, and you have to turn it into a full story and do that hundreds of times a year.”
The Fraternity’s principles of Love, Honor, and Truth continue to resonate deeply with him. “At this point, they’re just part of who I am,” Tobin reflected. “In today’s media climate, truth really matters. I’ve always tried to be someone viewers can count on. If they can’t count on the press in general, I hope they can count on me to get the story right and get it out there.”
A Brother at the Summit
From the house at 601 Alpha Drive in Tempe to the newsroom in Chicago and the heights of the Himalayas, Mike Tobin’s journey reflects the enduring bonds and guiding principles of Sigma Nu. His life and career are a testament to brotherhood, perseverance, and purpose.
Standing atop Everest, he carried with him not only his climbing gear but also the values instilled by the Legion of Honor and a message to those who need it most: you are not forgotten.