History of the Eta Rho Chapter (Continued)

The First Sightings

The last time the campus had seen a new fraternity was Chi Phi in 1971. Almost 20 years later, Delta Sigma Phi shattered that silence and stormed onto the scene. They did not have pledge pins, so they all dressed alike, wearing collared shirts, tucked in; a tradition, which is still carried by our pledges today.

The Alpha Class on a their first road trip to Nationals in the summer of 1989.

They wanted to be noticed. Not being an established chapter, the Alpha class tried harder in everything they did, raising the bar amongst the other fraternities. They were already the same size, but only pledges at the time. They had a leader in almost every single campus organization. They had student athletes, student government representatives, residence life leaders, student ambassadors, honor society members and overall "good young men." Bill Hooker went to the Dean of Students and made notice of their efforts.

Hooker made the claim that if they can be one of the top groups on campus in such a short time, they needed to be recognized by the IFC. The Dean's office responded favorably to the meeting and the Eta Rho Colony was started by the IFC and the Delta Sigma Phi National Fraternity. Soon followed the initiation of the Alpha Class with the assistance of the NC State and Western Carolina chapters and Bill Hooker.

The Big Break Through

Delta Sig host a Rush event for guys interested in joining the Beta Class.

The new brothers then developed a pledge program with the help of Hooker. Soon came Rush week, but this time they went head to head with all the other Greek Organizations on campus. The Beta Class would induct 28 members, making it the largest pledge class on campus. Delta Sig had apparently made their splash.

Somethings never change...Delta Sig host a Rush event at Hooters in 1991.

Delta Sig quickly became the fraternity powerhouse in service and campus involvement so their sights quickly turned to intramural athletics, long-perceived to be the true indicator of a fraternities strength. Quickly the young fraternity started to put themselves on the even playing fields of the likes of the once-dominant fraternities. And so on what started out a normal Monday in October in 1990, Delta Sig would meet Lambda Chi in 2 intramural flag football games and 1 soccer game. After winning the soccer game and one flag football game earlier in the day, they went on to beat Lambda Chi on a miraculous touchdown pass, for a third win. Although just a game in most standards, Green Monday as it came to be known, would solidify the presence of a new kid on the block, and symbolically establish Delta Sigma Phi as one of the boys, and they came to win, no matter the game.

Eta Rho Gets its Charter

Delta Sig celebrates their first annual Carnation Ball.

Just a colony in 1989, one year later on April 14, 1990, the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity chartered its Eta Rho Chapter at UNC Charlotte. This made Eta Rho the fasted Delta Sig Chapter in the United States to gain its Charter status. The Chapter was 77 members at the time, making it one of the largest chapters on campus in just one year. Delta Sig continued to recruit the best, gaining many young men who wanted to be apart of this organization, eventually reaching 100 plus members. This was the first fraternity to exceed 100 members on the Charlotte Campus.

The Delta Sigs sing to their dates at the first Carnation/Chartering Ball in April of 1990.

Delta Sig would continue to maintain their status as one of the most successful organizations on the Charlotte Campus, earning numerous awards such as Fraternity of the Year and the Pyramid of Excellence. They also received many awards for service projects, which included the Halloween Canned Food Drive and tutoring for elementary children. And the gentleman they were, they never forgot the help they had enlisted of the sororities in recruiting quality young men. Unique mixers and social events would cap off each semester and the relationship with many of the ladies of the UNC Charlotte Greek System spawned a few "special relationships" and even some wedding bells throughout the years.

University Times ad when the Alpha Class was initiated on April 14th, 1989.

Starting the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity and continuing its traditions have never been easy. They were a group of men who wanted something different, something that would help raise the standards of the Greek System, develop the qualities of its members, and contribute to the community, all-the-while striving for excellence in all aspects of life. Today, the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity is very proud of its past and all that our founders started, and the Chapter continues to carry out the values of the very foundation on which it was founded.

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