NCAAbbs

How is the Greek system doing at UAB these Days?

UAB has a Greek system?

Ask BatesUAB or dfarr

4 IFC fraternities 4 NPC sororities

I can't keep up w/ the NPHC groups. I think Deltas are back on campus but the Omegas aren't. Not really sure since I'm alumni.

Several people on the board were/are Greeks.

I just didn't know. I've never heard much about it. I know there were attempts to start one -- several times -- when I was an undergrad in the '80s. And when I worked there in the early '90s, there were some groups off campus, but I didn't think there was/were much of an organized system.

Of course, I have a vastly different perspective of that now, having most recently worked at two universities with huge Greek systems. MTSU's Greek row stretches two city blocks, with houses most millionaires would love to have.

Umm, I know my chapter has been at UAB since 1985, and we aren't the oldest chapter at UAB.

There were Greek chapters there in the '80s, there just wasn't a Greek "system," to my knowledge.

four Frats?

I know theta chi went under after I left..but the rest?

I remember we had alpha tau omega, tai kappa epsilon, lamda chi alpha, delta sigma, pie kappa phi, theta chi, and kappa sigma.

What's left?

Did gena finally have her way?

No, there has always been a system, it's just very small.

ATO went under a couple years ago. Pi Kappa Phi, Lambda Chi, Delta Sig, and TKE are still around.

Deltas are back on campus.

Omegas got kicked off campus.

I think IFC is trying to expand.

I know that Pi Kappa Phi recently won multiple national awards and was named one of the best Pi Kapp chapters in the nation over the summer.

I am not sure about the other 3.

Overall, I would say IFC is doing well.

I was going to go "Greek" when I was in school, but I couldn't afford the "r". ;-)

The Greek system was pretty strong from 80-87. It took a nose dive after several national law suits and UAB attempts to reorganize the system, putting all houses on campus under some draconian rules. The strongest were: TKE, Lambda Chi, Theta Chi, ATO, Alpha Phi Alpha, Pi Kaps, Omega Psi Phi, Kappas, Alpha Gams, Sigma Delta, AZTs. We all had a pretty good run until liability lawyers got involved.

I was a Teke, and we did have the best houses (originally). First was the Loveman's home (Alpine Style) on Rhodes Circle. Second was a house in the exclusive Glen Iris Cirlce area (The Jemison Home), complete with servants quarters and carriage house. Yeah, our neighbors LOVED US! lmfao Both homes were official historic sites and were leased. Eventually, we settled across the street from South Highlands Hospital, corner of 14 Ave. and 12 St. The house was old (1918), and not nearly as glamorous as the first two, but we owned it!

Louay, the Pi Kapps were in your old house for a while. They got run out of town by the neighbor on the corner.

I rarely see any of the Theta Chi's that were active when you were. With the exception of Maloney and Belcher.

Brian Mackin was a Theta Chi.

Not out of town but to a different part of the neighborhood. I think it was the same guy that caused a lot of problems for Theta Chi. Actually, I know it is the same guy.

If you don't mind me asking, who is this?

Thanks

Man that guy was brutal..I could not stand him! he called the police on us for being too loud playing volleyball at noon.

Sad old man...

While I was there we actually made good inroads with the community. I was the IFC VP and part of my responsibility was making the neighborhood meetings. Yeah, sometimes they dogged us but we were involved in some of the neighborhood events and actually helped clean the neighborhood after parties. Of course our fraternity had to sue the City of Birmingham because they said that frats violated an ordinance banning no more than related people from sharing a house. We sued, they finally dropped the charges against us.

I have no idea how things are going now.

that lady had it out for the fraternities! I used to fight with every freaking day.

Called the cops on us during rush, which is dry. The IFC advisor happened to be there when the cops came, so he knew what kind of a nutjob we were dealing with.

That guy ( who is a sh*tty ambulance chaser) filed a law suit against the Pi Kapps when they were in the old Theta Chi house across from Glen Iris. He's a bitter old bastard.

Also, I was at an alumni event a couple of weeks ago, and one of the actives told me that Delta Sig has built back up over the last couple of years.

That is interesting. When I first got to UAB it was always between Delta Sig and TKE. We (Delta Sig) won the President's trophy year after year. Pi Kaps were down when I was there. Their house burned down during my freshman year and it took some time to recover (my room mate was a Pi Kap). Theta Chi's were gaining when I left. ATO and Lamda Chi were both about dead.

We lost our house after I left and I believe that it really hurt us. Good to see that they have made a comeback.

Yeah, Delta Sig has built back up from what I've heard and Lambda Chi has gone downhill. Supposedly they only pulled 6 pledges this fall.

Is it still between alpha gam and a o phi?

Yep, but the gap has gotten a lot smaller.

Hey, so was yours truly. Charter member.

Where the hell is Tim Meehan? He was a great guy regardless of Greek affiliation. The guy was more than a wing-man. Any time you went out "trolling" with Tim, he would make sure you BOTH got laid!. That's what I call a real friend

Well, my chapter (AGD) has been on campus since 1978. As far as the sororities go, we're all doing pretty well. All 4 sororities made quota this year at recruitment, including AZD, who doesn't always. The problem with greek life at UAB is that our rushes aren't that big. The guys didn't get many pledges in the fall, and sorority recruitment only had 80-90 girls turn out. It's not promoted on campus like it is at other schools...in fact, sometimes it's really discouraged. I've had professors and other students openly discourage greek life. It's a shame too, because it's such a great experience.

I think a lot of it goes back to my original post in this thread, when I (sort of jokingly) asked: UAB has a Greek system? The fact of the matter is that an urban university doesn't provide many opportunities for a Greek system to enjoy that much visibility. There is no "Greek Row," most of the students commute, and there's still no real sense of university community, though I think it's better than it was 20 years ago when I was a student. I don't know if it's the same today, but when I was a student, there also wasn't that much administrative support for the Greek system, which caused it to struggle as well.

If I hadn't joined a fraternity, I wouldn't have done nearly as much on campus as I did, nor would I care nearly as passionately about my alma mater. I wish more people would rush. There would be more die hard Blazer fans and more people to donate money. I think there were something like 50-60 Pi Kapps in Blazer Club, and that was from 2 years ago.

I never did the greek thing. I think I just didn't get the buy-a-buddy system.

But it's so much more than that and it's impossible to explain it if you aren't in it.

There is something you are missing: Yes, some of my longest running friends were my fraternity bros, but there were also some that I wouldn't even spit on if they were on fire. Basically, you bought nothing.

I just didn't have time. Between the Honors Program (where I made several lifelong friends), the Blazer Band (ditto) and working in Student Publications (again, more lifelong friends), my time was booked. Plus, I worked a full-time job.

ATO was shut down by national for not paying bills, but that was the best thing for us considering how much the chapter had slid since the early 00's. But, since we weren't dissolved just "suspended", we can always approach national about re-forming...and, at least as of 2005, UAB stated we would be welcomed back.

ATO was founded at UAB on September 11, 1980. For the record I was '95 - '99...but most of you guys know who I am anyway.

I'm not faulting you at all for not rushing. It's just that some people who say that we're "paying for friends" don't really know what all else goes on.

You're right, I did and I would do the same again.

For the record, I'm not bashing anyone who wants to go that route. It's just that I didn't buy into the whole fraternity system. It's not for me, and I am sure I would have been miserable doing it because I know how my personality is and I know the personalities of most of the frat brothers I've met (not saying they aren't great guys, I just don't get along very well with most guys). And I would be out my dues.

I agree with dfarr. Fraternity helped me get involved on campus at UAB and taught me many lessons in life. One of the most important aspects that Fraternity instilled in me was my passion for UAB. It kills me to be away from UAB while I pursue my graduate degrees, but my ultimate goal is to return to UAB and give back to the university.

Spoken like a true independent! Fraternity is hands down one of the best decisions I made in my life. The guys I went to college with and guys who I met after college have become true life long friends. Not everyone got as much out of fraternity as me, but they also didn't put as much into it either.

BTR, I was actually at the house when the fire occurred including saving the Archon's life. All my stuff got destroyed/ruined in the fire. That was quite a night. It happened about 3 AM in the morning and none of the neighbors would come to the door to call the fire department because the phones were dead. Back then in that part of Southside, the neighbors actually welcomed us because crime was so bad with robberies, drug deals, shootings and burglaries that residents didn't mind the increased traffic, loud noise and etc. Crime dropped in the entire area with is there.

Indeed, fraternities are a microcosim of the real world. This exposure to different types of people is one of the benefits. Imagine trying to lead and motivate poeple to accomplish group oriented goals and you are not paying them. Every fraternity has some rotten apples. Currently, we have an ex member serving a life sentence in state prison.

BTW, I am posting on here using my blackberry so sometimes when I am typing sentences, the software changes it, which is why some of my words don't make any sense. For example, the previous post of mine, I typed us and it replaced it with is.

i was also a delta sig...pi kaps were starting to come on in my early years and were quite solid by the time i graduated...DSP fell on some hard times, but from what ive heard, have been doing quite well lately

Like MC Blazer, I to was a TKE...91-93 anyway. Early 90's were pretty greek friendly. There was a lot of talk about a Greek Row, but the school pretty much shut down that notion. To much liability.

TKE was freaking fantastic until we sold the house to Healthsouth and preceeded to have a "Tear Down the House" party since they were going to bulldoze it for a parking lot. We literally tore it down and even made CNN. Once the house was gone, the local chapter was too. About half of us got tired of hanging out at the Homewood Armory and the Cedar's Lodge so we bailed.

ATO, Pi Kap, Theta Chi, and Delta Sig were the other horses at the time. Met some friends that I consider "lifers" from those days and it was a great, childish, drunken experience. We were truly Animal House and the stories will last a lifetime.

We used to actually ride the gurney!! Then the lawyers came.

Pi Delta 285

Blow Gazers.

I am currently a TKE at UAB. We actually sent out a newsletter to all of our alumni recently with chapter news and a schedule of alumni events. We are having an alumni dinner in may and an alumni tailgate for the Marshall game next fall. We were tailgating for the UAB-Tulane game earlier this month with our wooden letters set up and I was wearing my jersey. Pi Delta 81 came up and shook my hand and we talked to him for about 10 minutes. A little while after that Pi Delta 69(possibly the greatest scroll number ever) came up to us and talked to us for a while. Also, earlier this semester Pi Delta 267(I believe that was his scroll number, Matt Hodge was his name) showed up to the house with a couple of cases of beer randomly and we talked to him for a while. I think he said that he had pictures from the "bringing down the house party." The chapter is presently growing pretty fast. When our president was initiated back in Spring 2006 we were down to I believe about 8 guys. Since then we have grown to about 30 or so guys with 12 guys including me initiated last semester. It is a very exciting time for the chapter and future looks bright. As far as the other fraternities go, Pi Kapp is probably the strongest, Delta Sig has made a turnaround but has been kicked off IFC for the next two semesters, and Lambda Chi is making a comeback. Still though, "Tekes are the best, to hell with the rest"

Pi Delta 433 "Goose"

+1

Yeah I know what you mean, I was a full time student, worked a full-time job, a part time job on the week ends and National Guard duty and just barely had time to join my fraternity.
I never bought a buddy. Like stated earlier, it's some people in my fraternity who I still don't like to associate with. so if I bought them I need to know where the receipt is so I can take them back and get a better brother.

But to each his own.

There is a Forums site for the Pi Delta chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon at UAB.

forums.uabtke.com

The greek system at UAB is slowly making it. Only four Fraternities and four Sororities, and still no real support from the University.

is Andy Marsh still there?

Maybe if UAB got rid of him and inserted someone who truly cared then the Greek system can grow and prosper.

Yeah, he still is.

sad to hear

HAMFU