[Erik P Conard]

Yes, but our pal Wilson Benton Heller never envisioned chapters
of much more than a hundred. After WWII, especially in Florida,
the vets swelled, for a while, chapters of upwards of 180. TKE at
Louisiana Tech, a big jock house, had 176 men a few years back.
The attrition was atrocious. And, the well-known footballer Terry Bradshaw was a member there then. The chapter soon slimmed
down to a hundred, perhaps less. U of IL, Penn State, huge old
systems, rarely had chapters of a hundred. I was TKE adviser at
U of I, jock house, many All Americans...never got over 80. Beta
at Kansas U has an 80-some chapter, all live in. Grades, top on
campus for almost every year in past 60 years. When you went to play the Betas on an IM game...there was no question as to
who'd win...just how bad the Betas would beat you. Phi Psi, SAE,
Phi Gam, Phi Delt...all over a hundred...never had a chance. Beta
could have 200 easily....but somehow keeps the lid about eighty.
Imagine a function with a 95 member Chi O pledge class with the
35 member Tekes, the 25 Pikes, the 40 Lambda Chis (not real)
And, since so many woman vs. men, size-wise, none were to be
required to attend...hoping that the lop-sided numbers would somewhat reconcile. Is this a real exchange, or what?
Naw, true, you can have as big a chapter as your little ole heart desires, and build a 4 million or even 10 million dollar house.
What lesson are you teaching?
I do not think Heller would go ape shit over the thought of the
huge, the mammoth, the mega-chapter. And I personally knew
him well, collaborated with him many, many times...
But, I spoke my piece and you yours...that is what makes this site
valuable. But the definition of 'fraternity' will obviously vary, and
just look at the variety of clubs we have on a variety of campi.