Think your university has strong Greek roots that go way back? The first collegiate social Greek organizations in North America were established in the first half of the 19th century. A few schools proudly proclaim they are the “Mother of Greek Life” or the “Mother of Fraternities”. We have assembled a list of universities that can boast the greatest number of fraternities and sororities established on their campuses.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – 3 Alphas
Beta Sigma Psi (1925)
Triangle (1907)
Tau Phi Sigma (1992)
Yale University – 3 Alphas
Delta Kappa Epsilon (1844)
Alpha Sigma Phi (1845)
Pi Lambda Phi (1895)
Longwood University – 4 Alphas
Sigma Sigma Sigma (1898)
Alpha Sigma Alpha (1901)
Zeta Tau Alpha (1898)
Kappa Delta (1897)
City College of New York – 4 Alphas
Delta Sigma Phi (1899)
Sigma Alpha Mu (1909)
Tau Delta Phi (1910)
Zeta Beta Tau (1898)
Syracuse University – 4 Alphas
Gamma Phi Beta (1874)
Alpha Phi Delta (1914)
Alpha Gamma Delta (1904)
Alpha Phi (1872)
Miami University of Ohio – 4 Alphas
Sigma Chi (1855)
Beta Theta Pi (1839)
Phi Kappa Tau (1906)
Delta Zeta (1902)
Union College (Schenectady, New York) – 6 Alphas
Chi Psi (1841)
Delta Phi (1827)
Kappa Alpha Society (1825)
Psi Upsilon (1833)
Sigma Phi (1827)
Theta Delta Chi (1847)
We stuck to only the 75 North-American Interfraternity Conference members and the 26 members of the National Panhellenic Conference. Note that, although the organization was founded at the above schools, that doesn’t necessarily mean the chapter on that university is currently active or still holds the label of the “alpha” chapter. There will likely be differing opinions as to which campus can actually claim the title of “The Mother of Greeklife”.
