missed opportunities

[oldu]

Prior to 1848 every existing national fraternity but one had been founded in the northeast section of the U. S. This is not surprising as those were the wealthiest and most populated states, and home to the vast majority of our oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning. It was many years before most states undertook to operate and support universities.

Fifteen national fraternities came into existence during the period from 1825 until 1847. Only Beta Theta Pi, founded in 1839 in Ohio, came from outside the area. Three others were fairly short lived: Mystic Seven, founded in 1837 was very loosely organized and several of its chapters bolted to Delta Kappa Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi. It disintegrated in 1890. Delta Kappa, founded in 1845, was similar to Mystic Seven and it was gone by 1880. The five chapters of Alpha Sigma Phi had an even shorter life, with all but one gone by 1865. That lone chapter remained a local society until 1907 when it revived Alpha Sigma Phi as a national organization.

THE REMAINING ELEVEN FRATERNITIES are interesting for WHAT THEY COULD HAVE DONE -- BUT DID NOT DO. They had a head start on everyone. Established chapters at the country's most respected colleges, wealthy alumni and solid support from many prominent educators. I find it amazing that not one chose to continue an aggressive expansion policy that several had at their very beginning.

Fifty years later, at the turn of the twentieth century, here was their status: Four groups (1825 Kappa Alpha, 1827 Sigma Phi, 1827 Delta Phi & 1847 Delta Psi) were miniscule in size. Five more (1832 Alpha Delta Phi, 1833 Psi Upsilon, 1841 Chi Psi, 1847 Zeta Psi & 1847 Theta Delta Chi) had grown only marginally. Only two (1834 Delta Upsilon & 1844 Delta Kappa Epsilon) were making any effort at all at becoming a major national fraternity. They each had approximately 40 chapters while the largest fraternities at the time had 60.

"What if?" is always fun to speculate. Had several of those groups continued to expand to new institutions throughout the U. S., some of the groups which exist today probably would never have been formed.

Ironically, many of the institutions where these fraternities had chapters were the schools where Greeks were ultimately banned. This took a heavy toll on some of their strongest chapters -- and disenfranchised many of their wealthiest alumni at a time when they needed them the most.