Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life
Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life
The Interfraternity Council
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the governing body for local chapters of the national fraternity organizations specifically associated with the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). The University of Southern Mississippi IFC currently presides over nine chapters, including Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Phi Kappa Tau, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Nu, and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
To join a chapter at the University of Southern Mississippi, you must have a 2.8 cumulative high school or community college GPA. If you fall below this requirement, you can send in a grade appeal to the Interfraternity Council and your potential membership in a chapter will be decided by the IFC executive board. The IFC requires a $30 recruitment registration fee and a $50 bid signing fee.
Local Chapters
Alpha Tau Omega - Alpha Tau Omega was nationally founded at Virginia Military Institute on September 11, 1865. We were founded locally as the Epsilon Upsilon on November 19, 1949, after absorbing the locally founded Sigma Zeta fraternity, which was founded in 1937. Epsilon Upsilon consistently ranks highly in the nation for its philanthropic efforts. In 2018, we raised just under $11,000, which placed us in the top 40 for ATO’s nationally, and a grand total of $601 per man, which places us at the third spot nationally among all other ATO chapters. Our annual philanthropy event, ATO Crawfish Boil, is in its 34th year in 2019 and is the longest-running fraternity philanthropy event on campus.
Delta Tau Delta - Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, which is in present-day West Virginia. The Zeta Chi chapter of Southern Miss was colonized on April 13, 1986, and has lived by the knowledge that integrity is essential. The founding principles of truth, courage, faith and power have provided a guide for both the fraternity and its members. The chapter has been recognized ten times in its history with the Hugh Shields Award and 21 times as a Court of Honor chapter. These awards recognize the ten and 20 best chapters in the nation. Zeta Chi prides itself on its community and philanthropic endeavors with its partners, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Mississippi. Since starting Zeta Chi's work with cystic fibrosis, it has raised over $500,000.
Kappa Sigma - The Kappa Sigma Fraternity at The University of Southern Mississippi was founded on December 11, 1948. The Epsilon Nu chapter is active across all facets of university life, excelling in intramurals and participating and donating to philanthropies and activities within the Hattiesburg community. Since our founding in the 1940s, the organization continues to be at the forefront of Fraternity and Sorority Life at USM. The Epsilon Nu chapter is branded the “House of Champions” by our National Headquarters on the premise that we boast the highest average GPA of all Kappa Sigmas within the state of Mississippi.
Pi Kappa Alpha - Six young gentlemen forged a brotherhood on March 1, 1868, in 47 West Range, University of Virginia. From then on, the Pi Kappa Alpha international fraternity experience has expanded and thrived for 150 years, and we have made an impact on this campus as a new colony in October 2017, chartered as the Delta Mu chapter on March 29, 2019. To better serve our community and alma mater, we support local charities for our philanthropies, encourage sportsmanship in all fields of intramurals, and befriend all organizations, regardless of affiliation. To better serve our faith, family, and fraternity, we strive for a sound mind, a clean body, and a restorative faith. By doing so, we hope to serve ourselves and others better than we had yesterday and keep striving for improvement. We hold ourselves accountable to make good grades, take initiative, stay competitive, and respect everyone equally and fairly. In order to form a firm and lasting friendship, we are our brother's keeper.
Pi Kappa Phi - Pi Kappa Phi was founded on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Disillusioned by campus politics being run exclusively by Greek organizations, fifteen non-Greek men created a pseudo-fraternity called Nu Phi, meaning “non-fraternity,” to be voted into their version of a modern-day student government. After it was revealed that only seven stayed loyal, they created the fraternity of Pi Kappa Phi.
Pi Kapp is founded on seven core values: common loyalty, personal responsibility, achievement, accountability, campus involvement, responsible citizenship, and lifelong commitment. The Theta Alpha chapter of Pi Kappa Phi was chartered on April 24, 1999. Being only 20 years old, Pi Kapp at Southern Miss has shown leadership winning three Founders Awards (recognizing the top 5% of Pi Kapp chapters nationally) and countless other awards for campus involvement, recruitment excellence, money raised for The Ability Experience, and much more. Pi Kapp is the only national fraternity to own and operate its own philanthropy, The Ability Experience (ABEX). ABEX supports people with different abilities through fundraising, friendship visits, and making the world more accessible for people with special needs. Every summer, ABEX puts on several events including Journey of Hope and Gear Up Florida, which are cross-country and cross-state bike rides to raise money and awareness for people with special needs.
Phi Kappa Tau - The Beta Epsilon chapter of Phi Kappa Tau is the oldest national Greek organization founded on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi, chartered in 1948. Since its inception, the men of the Beta Epsilon chapter of Phi Tau have prided themselves on being men of character, while striving for excellence in the classroom and on campus. Our national philanthropy is the Serious Fun Children’s Network.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon - Mississippi Sigma was founded on March 9, 1856, has since chartered 317 chapters found in all 50 states. Our Mississippi Sigma chapter located at The University of Southern Mississippi, was chartered on December 11, 1965. Sigma Alpha Epsilon strives for the transition of mediocre men to “The True Gentleman.” Philanthropy benefits within the Mississippi Sigma chapter are designated to the Abbie Rogers Civitan Camp. The Abbie Rogers Civitan Camp is a sleep away camp intended to give children and adults with disabilities the authentic camp experience. Our intramural participation continuously remains as a top-tier competition across several sports, having received numerous awards for many different performances.
Sigma Nu - At Virginia Military Institute in 1869, a small group of incoming freshmen decided that they should not have to perform demeaning acts to gain acceptance in an oppressive student organization. Thus, Sigma Nu was created in opposition of hazing and put an emphasis on moral and value-based leadership. The belief that men should be treated as equal men and the idea that development can take place outside of the classroom carry on today through Theta Gamma chapter. Founded at Southern Miss in 1969, Theta Gamma was chartered 100 years after Sigma Nu’s birth. Sigma Nu's mission is to develop ethical leaders inspired by the principles of love, honor and truth, to foster the personal growth of each man’s mind, heart and character, and to perpetuate lifelong friendships and commitment to the fraternity.
For years, the Theta Gamma chapter has been breaking the mold of what a fraternity is expected to be, showing excellence in areas such as (but not limited to) recruitment and manpower, academics, and philanthropy. In addition, Sigma Nu is constantly represented throughout the university, having members of the chapter spread throughout organizations such as the USM Student Government Association, Southern Style, GEWW Crew, the Honors College, the Luckyday Citizenship Program, and more.
Sigma Phi Epsilon - Sigma Phi Epsilon was founded at Richmond College in Richmond, Virginia, on November 1, 1901. The Mississippi Gamma chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon was chartered on May 16, 1953, at The University of Southern Mississippi. Since then, we have been developing men into leaders in their family, campus and community. In 2015, our chapter was awarded a Buchanan Cup, an award recognizing the top chapters of Sig Ep nationwide. Our brothers are involved in many student organizations, including IFC executive board, Student Government Association, Southern Style and many more. Every year our brothers host a chili cook-off to benefit the on-campus food pantry, Eagle’s Nest. Our chapter has won the overall intramural championship each of the last five years and has remained within the top two in grades for fraternities over that period of time.
2020 IFC Executive Council
President: Ramsey Thrasher (Pi Kappa Phi) ifcFREEMississippi
VP Recruitment: Kyle Martin (Sigma Phi Epsilon)
VP Administrative Affairs: Collin Brown (Sigma Alpha Epsilon)
VP Programming: Reid Morris (Sigma Phi Epsilon)
VP Community Outreach: Landry Smith (Sigma Nu)
Attorney General: Branson Baxter (Sigma Alpha Epsilon)
IFC Advisor
Ben Knaack | benjamin.knaackFREEMississippi | 601.266.4825
Follow us on social media for updates on our community:
Instagram – @ifcsouthernmiss
Twitter – @SouthernMissIFC
Facebook – Southern Miss Interfraternity Council