[starang21]

Originally posted by IotaNet
To the Group -

I just happened upon this thread and thought I'd inject some factual information. I am the Immediate-Past National Director of Marketing of Iota Phi Theta. More importantly, I was the Project Manager for Iota's efforts to join the NPHC.

To the original question: Will there ever be a 10th member of the NPHC?

Potentially so but it will not be easy. Although there are now quantitative standards for entry, the bar is quite high. And even if a potential member organization does meet those standards, the quest for true acceptance is a whole 'nother hurdle.

I addressed this issue in a post a few years ago. Click here to read that post and the discussion that lead to it. After reading that post, one can imagine the "De Facto" issues associated with joining the NPHC.

For a non-subjective overview of how Iota joined the NPHC, take a look at this link . This page is a simple recitation of the facts without any editorial commentary.

Any educated Greek can read both of those references and then "read between the lines" to determine how difficult a task any 10th member organization might encounter.

To address some additional thoughts raised by the various posts;

* Yes, we had to be extremely tenacious -- in many quarters, our membership in NPHC was actively opposed (by more than just one organiztion, I might add.)

* Yes, it took over 20 years.

* Whether or not it rhymes is of no consequence. Before we joined, the NPHC was known as "The Great 8" in some areas and "The Elite 8" in some areas -- especially the midwest.

Interestingly enough, the original "new" nickname of the NPHC was "The Noble 9." This term was coined by Daisy Wood, past NPHC national president. She did so at the meeting where Iota's acceptance was first announced. (I know this because I was sitting next to her when she stood up and announced it!) The term "Divine 9" gained traction with the publishing of Lawrence Ross' book of the same title.


I hope this clears up some of the conjecture. Anyone with questions, feel free to chime in or PM me.

good ish, frat.