Baylor.

Besides the scandals the athletics department/university have been involved in, is there any other factor that would preclude extension at Baylor? Is housing a factor, or hostile administration, or a toxic tier culture?

Other schools:
University of North Alabama-4 chapters, quota was 45 last year and looks to be over 50 this year
Colorado State
Kennesaw State
Belmont strictly by numbers but they have bigger fish to fry
Tulane
Columbia
Appalachian State
Elon
High Point
Cincinnati
Oklahoma
Temple
Furman
South Dakota State
Tarleton State
Texas-I think the numbers are finally back high enough that it could be talked about
Utah
Marquette

Of course Alabama- 2400 are already registered for recruitment.

The biggest problem with opening up Texas - which is long overdue - is real estate. You simply cannot get a house near enough to campus, and you will not be able to compete without a house. It's very frustrating.

Hopefully Sigma Kappa will have a fantastic return to Alabama and Alpha Xi will be next!

I see the culture at Texas as a bigger issue.

We would love to have Alpha Xi back!!!!! RTR!

I would hold off on Temple until the state figures out who is getting what funding (Temple is not state owned, but is state related, and not cheap).

There are others on this board with more knowledge about Baylor than I have, as I haven't lived in the area in about 15 years. I'll answer as best I can.

Baylor did not have any space for sororities until maybe 10-15 years ago. Time flies and honestly I can't remember when things changed. That is when they built a Panhellenic Building that has a large chapter room for each sorority. No one lives in. There are currently 8 sororities, but if memory serves, they built the building with either additional space for future organizations or the ability to expand.

Somehow the scandal(s) have not hurt female enrollment, but that is an opinion piece and thread for another day. Quota + additions has been >100/110 with just 8 chapters on campus. Given that there is no housing to pay for or beds to fill, adding in several more chapters could get pledge classes to a manageable number.

There is certainly quite the competitiveness between chapters so campus culture would have to change to genuinely embrace and support new chapter(s), as well as genuinely embrace and support the sororities that are currently on campus. One chapter missed quota by 10 this past year, but there were almost 100 QAs. Tent talk all first semester (January Recruitment) is a huge player. Historically there has been a strong competitiveness between organizations that extends beyond friendly rivalry. It's not just dissing on the perceived "bottom chapter." The shade thrown extends up and down to include all chapters. Everyone jockeying for position.

I don't recall a hostile administration to adding groups but that is where others would know Baylor better than me. It's certainly not a Belmont situation. Up until the 1990s no dancing was allowed, and it might be that official greek events are still dry. Not sure. That comes from the admin, but more based on their Biblical beliefs than anti-Greek. Baylor has a large Baptist/Southern Baptist student body, so their students wouldn't be as up in arms about those restrictions as elsewhere.

^Do students live on campus all 4 years or are there off-campus unofficial Greek living spaces?

Culture at Texas is right behind real estate, but the chapters which haven't been regarded as "top tier" seem to be doing better, and the impact of THAT Texas Monthly article is, perhaps, lessening somewhat. SOMEWHAT. I certainly hope so, and hope that the stars align so Texas can open up.

Adding to the list, I would say Washington State is ready. Back in 2003, it was standard to have the executive board, the sophomore class, and the junior classes living in the chapter house. If I recall correctly, the chapter houses hold between 38 and 65. The pledge classes seem to be 50-55, at this point between executive boards, only one pledge class can live in the chapter houses. If pledge classes continue to increase like they have been (slowly but surely!) in another couple of years, the pledge class will be larger than the amount of spots available. Unless the culture at WSU has changed a LOT, I would think they are ready to expand. Land is some what of an issue, but not a huge issue, it could be figured out.

=)

Temple numbers definitely increased rapidly.

That's good to hear about Texas. Some of the things I've read about that panhellenic system have just been downright mean. Hopefully the improvement is slow but sure.

I am not positive but I think most just live on campus 1-2 years. The fraternities certainly have unofficial houses. I am not sure about the sororities. With 300-400 members it would seem difficult to consolidate into blocks of living spaces.

I figured that the culture at Texas was improving if more chapters were making quota and quota overall was higher, because it meant that women were at least accepting bids that before they may not have. Hopefully retention numbers are good for those chapters too.

Honestly, at most SEC schools you could plop in a new chapter and the system would easily accommodate it, numbers-wise. If only it were that simple to start a competitive chapter!

Gonna rise this thread back up. One school I've always wondered about why they haven't opened up is SMU. There are enough chapters that could recolonize and the last time they opened up was 1994 with AXO.