primarily southern sororities
 

So I was talking to my roommate awhile ago, and realized that Phi Mu remains a primarily southern sorority.

What I mean by that is that although we've got chapters (and members) everywhere -- all across the country, and even the world -- we're most prevalent in the south, and most well-known in the south.

Are any other sororities like this?

ASA is most prevalent in the Midwest. We have probably as many chapters in the East, but the ones in the Midwest are giant.

Isn't ZTA like that as well? I know they have a LOT of chapters in the South!

I believe ZTA is also a primarily Southern sorority.

Tri Delta is probably strongest in the South, but we have big chapters all over.

D Phi E has more than half of our chapters in the Northeast. We're huge in New York State and Pennsylvania. :) When I meet SEC people, they think that my sorority is a local, not that there is anything wrong with locals. :)

True but it varies.
For example we have 13 active chapters in PA:)

I think it is like that for a lot of GLO's to have one area of the country where they have a lot of chapters.

For Beta Theta Pi, it is definately the Mid-west and Ohio River Valley. We have chapters at the major state universities in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin. Getting closer to the old west, there are tons of chapters in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky...

As we go farther south though we either have fewer chapters or they aren't as prestigious on their respective campuses. Same thing happens as we go west until Cali...

Alpha Phi seems to be concentrated in the West, Midwest, and Northeast with strong showings in the Southwest too (mostly Texas) and in Canada (six chapters). There don't seem to be any chapters in the "Deep South", but there are chapters in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida.

I'm interested to know if any organizations are larger in areas outside of the one they were founded in...

Most of Alpha Sigma Phi's chapters are concentrated in the East and Northeast, with a relatively strong showing in the Midwest. Once you go west of the Mississippi, there are very few Alpha Sig chapters, though there have been some in California and Arizona. Don't know the reason why, but there have never been any chapters in Texas.

I did a little math and research on the "Primarily Southern Sororities". My best friend who is a Theta, always argued that her sorority was "very Southern." Much to my surprise, it wasn't compared to many other sororities.

Here are the stats:

Number of ACTIVE chapters in "Southern" states
(Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia)

Phi Mu: 84
Chi Omega: 81
Kappa Delta: 71
Alpha Delta Pi: 69
Tri Delta: 53
Delta Gamma: 45
Kappa Kappa Gamma: 38
Pi Beta Phi: 37
Alpha Gamma Delta: 33
Kappa Alpha Theta: 30

I must note that I couldn't count Zeta Tau Alpha's chapters because their list wasn't updated, nor was it organized by state.

Correct me if I'm wrong on the figures ladies! And remember, it's all about quality, not quantity.

Maryland?
 

Does that count as Southern?

Of course, straight numbers don't tell us much -- I mean, Chi O's got more chapters than any other NPC sorority, so of course they're going to have more Southern chapters. A more accurate way would be to determine the percentage of chapters that are in the South . . . but that list is a good start.

When I think of primarily Southern sororities, I think first of Phi Mu, ZTA, Alpha Delta Pi and Kappa Delta, but I'm not sure if there's any truth to that or not.

Too Much Time on My Hands?
 

Nope, just some tasks I'm in denial about, which gave me incentive to research this far more interesting issue further! Accepting your states as the right definition of "Southern" (though mentally I tend to lump OK and Missouri in there, too, and wonder about Maryland also), we get:

ZTA: 84
AOPi (which I also think of as strong in the south, if not totally southern): 45
DZ (same as AOPi vis-a-vis The South, I think): 63

And FYI AXiD, which is not in any rational mind a southern sorority (and which I think of as being FAR less southern than Theta): 40.

Maryland,
I counted it because I thought it was originally below the Mason-Dixon Line. Even if you take it away, it doesn't affect the count much because very few sororities had more than 1 or 2 chapters there. Your comment about Missouri and Oklahoma were interesting -- I know that most Mizzou people consider themselves being in the midwest, but people from OK definitely have more of a "Southern" mindset.

What would be far more interesting to me would be to find out which sororities have the most number of chapters at Division 1 schools. I challenge someone to take on that task!

I also tried to do straight percentages, but I couldn't find the exact total chapter count for each sorority. Guesstimating, I'd bet the top four definitely had about 50% of their chapters in the South.

D Phi E currently has 10 active Southern chapters in Maryland, Georgia, and Florida. We have two colonies in Texas. :D

In the Northeast, we have 18 in NY, 13 in NJ, 1 in CT, 13 in PA, 4 in MA, 1 in NH, and 1 in RI. :cool:

this is actually something i have been thinking about....what makes one group more prominent in an area? i am sure that alum support helps, but i think that some groups may be better suited for different areas. do you feel that your group's philosophy helps to keep a stronger foothold in an area? any other reasons why one group prospers in one area and not in another?

for phi mu, we have 84 chapters in the south...and 14 in the northeast. pa has 6, me has 2, ct has 1, and oh has 5. ma, ri, vt, nh, nj, de and ny have zero!!! i know in the past few years, we have lost 4 chapters that i can remember. i wonder how much of the difference has to do with being a southern sorority. i remember meeting chapter consultants who were in shock about our rush processes. rush is very different in the north! i think they had a hard time giving us info that would work in our particular circumstances. i love phi mu, but i am totally bummed that there are no chapters in my state!!!

do you think that your group is good at adapting to the needs and "culture" of each area of the country?

so I thought about why Phi Mu would be primarily southern, and here's what I came up with:


* Phi Mu was founded in the antebellum period, specifically 1852, which was before 1864 (the start of the Civil War.) "Gone With the Wind" takes place abut 1862-1867.

* something I've heard since I joined was the emphasis on the "Phi Mu lady." Something we've always battled is the label of the princess, or the priss -- the dark side of the lady hood coin.

* Phi Mu in general appeals to the Girly Girl, which is a huge thing in the south. Our colors are rose & white, etc.

In the late seventies, I knew the president of Mississippi State's Phi Mu chapter very well. She was a girly-girl--sooo Southern and sweet! She asked me to write her a rec to be a traveling graduate consultant and I did and she made it. Several months later, she came back to visit and she was so funny! "Oh, y'all, the Phi Mus around the country are so different! I really thought we were just feminine ladies and oh my gosh! We're not! We have jock chapters!"

She went on like this for hours and we in the Greek office were rolling in the floor!!!!!

Having lived in Oklahoma (but not a native), I can agree with that. The southeastern part of Oklahoma is sometimes called 'Little Dixie' which generally covers the counties south of a line from Fort Smith to Ardmore. A couple of minor battles in the Civil War were fought in Oklahoma (at the time only a territory) near Atoka.

Phi Sigma Sigma is primarily a northeastern sorority:
New York: 21 chapters
New Jersey: 9
Penn: 17
Mass: 5
Maryland: 4 (I DO NOT consider myself a southerner!!!...but no hatin on those who do ;) )

This is just a handful. My friends that go to school in the south thought Phi Sig was local because we have no chapters at the traditionally "southern greek schools" but when I go visit my boyfriend in jersey I see Phi Sigs everywhere :)

I always think of AOII as being especially strong in the south so I was astounded to find that it was founded at Barnard College in NYC

geographically MD might be southern, but it lacks the "southern mentality" that is discussed very often on these boards. i'm going to veto MD as a southern state.

The Mason/Dixon Line was set by two survouers(SIC) who set a Boundery for the then known States of America and nothing more.

This was all brought out during the Civil War, or war between the States. Yes Maryland was a Souhtern State. But take into context, Mo. was a Deep South State, while Kansas was a Free Rights State (Northern). The Gettysberg of the West was fought in Kansas City. The Last Oficial Battle was in Pea Ridge Arkansas. With Maryland being so near the Northern area, I am sure after the War it became closer to the Northern way of thinking as it was more industrial than the Deep Southern States who were agricultual. What basically seperates Maryland and Virginia is Wash. DC.!

I think a lot might have to do where the Orgs. were originally started and spread because of the proxcimity of getting to other areas.

LXA started in Boston , Mass. All new Chapters were also close. It was decided back when that the best way to expand was to go as far West as possible. A chapter was initiated in California to show that LXA was Country wide.

I cannot remember for sure what states we are not in except Hawaii. I think we may be in all even Alaska which we just colonized last year. I would have to do some research to make sure. Lenoxx who is on site would be the best to know I think!

Dont know if this makes sense to you but what the heck!;)

This is the general reaction my chapter gets from the CC's...
:p

Huh. I hadn't thought about KD. They're southern?

First of all, the remark about the "jock chapter" is priceless! Definite sig line material!

That being said, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is the "Southen Sorority". Sororities as a whole are more important & larger in the South than in the North, and I'm sure there's a good rationalization. Personally, I've always considered ADPi, Phi Mu, KKG, Pi Phi, and ChiO as "the" Southern sororities, with the Farmville Four thrown in for good measure. It probably has more to do with family members who were greeks than anything else (although we have no Phi Mu's).

Just my 2¢

honeychile

DU has 81 chapters, 2 colonies and 5/6 interest groups. DU traditionally has been very strong in New England , the northeast and big 10 schools. DU did not install a southern chapter until 1922.
The decline of Greeks in the Northeast has hurt, DU has lost chapters at Bowdoin,Colby, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Williams, Brown, Wesleyan, Union and Cornell in the last half century, most of these losses were due to a rising tide of anti greek feeling by College Administrations, although Brown Bowdoin and Dartmouth went local (ALL 3 HAVE SINCE EXPIRED). At one time these chapters were all very strong,interestingly DU returned to Harvard in 1999.
DU is still strong in Pennsylvania (8 chapters, Ohio 8 chapters, Illinois 7 chapters and is represented in all of the big state schools in the midwest and on the great plains.]
IN MY OPINION BEST CHAPTERS INCLUDE:

OU, MISSOURI, ILLINOIS,WISCONSIN, PENN ST., MIT, COGATE, HAMILTON, KANSAS, K STATE ,OREGON STATE AND WASHINGTON

Semi-off topic, but A Phi has only 2 chapters in Florida... Barry and Florida Tech. We were also only chartered within the past 13 years. It's kinda rough to be so isolated, but we have such great alumni that help us out that it doesn't seem so bad sometimes.

Alpha Phi is definitely strongest in the Midwest and West. I'm from Chicago, and tons of girls that I went to high school with joined Alpha Phi at Midwest colleges.

TRI- SIGMA is also like that. We are generaly North East and are making efforts to spread westwardly.:D

This relates in that AOII expanded to Sophie Newcomb College in 1898 (2nd chapter and a year or so after AOII's founding!) and that one of our founders (Stella) was from Louisiana. In a way you could say that we are Northern born but Southern at heart. . . :) You can also take into consideration that approximately 1/2 our active chapters are located in Southern states (49 out of 101)!

Sarah

I've heard this setiment before, even though we have far more chapters in the North-East then the south.

The thing about KKG, Pi Phi, and Chi O (and Tri Delt, as someone mentioned above) is that while they're strong in the South, they also have a lot of chapters spread out just about everywhere, so I wouldn't really count them as "Southern sororities" per se . . . whereas Phi Mu and ZTA at least seem to be concentrated more heavily in the South.

But you're right, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I've attended two Midwestern universities and my perceptions are definitely based on the chapters that are there and at schools around here.

Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi Beta strike me as very "Midwestern" sororities -- Gamma Phi Beta has a bunch of chapters here in Wisconsin alone.

Can anybody think of sororities that would be considered "West Coast"? -- because I can't. Probably because no sororities were founded there (at least, I think there weren't any).

That's interesting... AEPhi was also founded at Barnard, and one of our earliest chapters (I believe it was our first outside New York) was at Sophie Newcomb College.

Although we have chapters all over the country, AEPhi is still very much concentrated in the Northeast. National HQ is in Connecticut, and there are tons of alums around here.

Interesting thread!
For the record, Florida is definitely southern when it comes to sororities. Both of the BIG state schools - the old line ones, FSU and UF - are in very southern style cities. FSU has sororities that have 100 year old chapters. KD and ADPi for sure. While fluctuations in membership over the years have meant that APhi, TriSigma, AZiD, AOPi and SKappa have gone away, FSU has not had a new colonization or re-colonization in years. The last NPC group to come on was back in 1964 and at one point they supported 18 GLO's, all NPC groups.
Gainesvillle's sorority history is newer by comparison and still growing, which is great. The University of Miami is smaller, but there are some 60 year old chapters there.

Actually I don't think of Alpha Phi as a Midwest group...although we are strong there. Alpha Phi is very strong in the West, very strong in the midwest and very very strong in the NE. The chapters we have in the South are fantastic as well!

I just did a quick count: ADPi has 59 Northern chapters (including 3 in Canada), 70 in the South, and 8 in "border states".

I counted the 10 in CA in the North, but I guess those would be western. I was thinking in a North/South mode, not East/West.

Btw, nice site, ariesrising! How often do you update your figures? I noticed that ADPi is down by about 20,000 on your chart.

honeychile

ariesrising, where do you get your numbers? They seem a little bit off.

US Dept of Labor -- Bureau of Labor Statistics

According to the government the break down of the four regions is:

WEST
AK, HI, WA, OR, CA, ID, NV, AZ, MT, WY, UT, CO, NM

MIDWEST
ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH

NORTHEAST
ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NJ, NY, PA

SOUTH
DE, MD, DC, KY, WV, VA, AR, TN, NC, SC, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL

Personally, I'd argue the Mid Atlantic should be a 5th region. It would take care of some to those questionable states like MD, DE, and DC.

Sigma Kappa currently has 107 collegiate chapters.

WEST-20
WA 2, OR 2, CA 12, NV 1, AZ 1, CO 2

MIDWEST-33
NE 1, KS 2, OK 1, IA 1, MO 7, IL 8, MI 6, IN 4, OH 6

NORTHEAST-18
MA 4, RI 1, CT 1, NJ 1, NY 2, PA 9

SOUTH-33
MD 1, DC 1, KY 5, WV 1, VA 5, AR 1, TN 5, NC 5, TX 4, LA 2, AL 1, GA 1, FL 1



edited-oops SC is now included in the South

I was going to reply to that post, but you beat me to it. :D Tallahassee and Gainesville are as Southern as it gets.

Phi Mu and KD always seem like the most Southern to me. Maybe it's because I've heard those names spoken with Southern accents for years. Maybe it's because there are no chapters of either in my region (New England).

Here's the breakdown for Alpha Gamma Delta"

WEST = 11 Chapters
HI-1, WA-2, OR-1, CA-3, ID-1, NV-1, AZ-1, MT-1, CO-1

MIDWEST = 38 Chapters
ND-1, NE-1, KS-3, OK-3, MN-1, IA-1, MO-4, WI-1, IL-5, MI-9, IN-3, OH-6

NORTHEAST = 14 Chapters
MA-1, NJ-2, NY-2, PA-9

SOUTH = 40 Chapters
MD-1, KY-5, WV-1, VA-3, AR-1, TN-3, NC-3, TX-4, AL-8, GA-7, FL-4

CANADA = 6 Chapters
BC-1, NS-1, OT-2, AB-2

(I know we've got more chapters, but this is according to the current list on International's website.)

So apparently we're (technically) a primarily southern sorority... who knew?