Bama - Old Row/New Row clarification
 

To Alabama Alums - first I apologize if this question has posed before. My daughter is a junior at U of A and I have gotten so many different answers about the Old Row - New Row classifications that I don't know what to believe. Can someone please explain it? I have been told it relates to only fraternities only or that there are 5 Old row sororities. What makes a sorority "old row"? My daughter is a DZ there and they are not considered to be "old row". Neither is Zeta Tau Alpha. I ask because DZ colonized in 1922 and was endorsed by President G.H. Denny and Dean Mary Burke. At that time only KD, Tri Delt and Zeta were on campus. Thank you for clarifying - my daughter and I have been in a debate about this! (This is my first post in a long time - I've enjoyed just reading and learning from everyone.) I'm a Pi Phi alum/Tri Delt legacy elsewhere.

There are 6 Old Row Fraternities and 7 Old Row Sororities.

Fraternities: SAE, DKE, KA, Sigma Nu, Phi Delta Theta, and Phi Gamma Delta
Sororities: Phi Mu, Alpha Chi Omega, Chi Omega, TriDelt, KD, Alpha Gamma Delta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma.

What makes any chapter at Bama Old Row versus New Row are two things: founding date and whether or not they are "sponsored" by Budweiser. First of all, those fraternities and sororities that were the first few on campus banded together to form a group, called Old Row. Originally Zeta Tau Alpha and ADPi were given offers to be a part of Old Row, seeing as they were founded before other sororities on campus, but because of national policies that they cannot be sponsored by drinking organizations, they were replaced. Kappa was one of those sororities who replaced them, I believe. Delta Zeta might be one of the sororities who declined as well, although I'm not sure.

As for the second part, being sponsored by Budweiser, yeah haha. Old Row fraternities and sororities enjoy the privilege of receiving free beer courtesy of Budweiser, and they also get shirts with "Old Row" on them that makes it look like the Budweiser logo. At the end of the year, Budweiser also sponsors an Old Row party for all members.

All the fraternities on campus used to be on the west side, just north of where the sororities are now. In the late 1950s/early 1960s, fraternity houses were built on the east side of campus (building is continuing there today).
Thus the term "Old Row" meant the fraternities on the west side in the older houses, and "New Row" meant the fraternities on the east side in new houses.

Sororities were not originally part of that designation, but over the years it has morphed into a term for both fraternities and sororities that belong to the....guess you could call it a party club, or drinking club.

Thank you both - that is really interesting! I have never heard any of this before. I knew Greek Chat would provide some answers. I just went to Bama's Homecoming and Alabama doesn't strike me as being a mega party campus - but then again there were a lot of us parent types around this weekend. I have to laugh because it sounds like the Old Row thing would fit in better at the University of Wisconsin! We bleed beer from our veins. That is where 3 generations of my family have gone. My daughter broke the tradition.

I believe UA was the winner of the first Playboy magazine top party campus designation...around 1973 or '74?
I remember the SGA president talking about how they got the survey in the mail, and he took it back to his fraternity house where they all had a grand time inventing answers!!

But yes, the presence of parents may have had something to do with that weekend's tame atmosphere.

You do know, the pre-parties start at midnight, with the main attraction band coming on about 2 a.m.?:p

Yep, LaXguy, you're correct!

JFF Mom, wouldn't it be bordering on blasphemy for Wisconsin houses to be sponsored by Budweiser? Miller, yes, that would work :)

Then it struck you wrong...