"To bind men together in a brotherhood based upon eternal and immutable principles, with a bond as strong as right itself and as lasting as humanity; to know no North, no South, no East, no West, but to know man as man, to teach that true men the world over should stand together and contend for supremacy of good over evil; to teach, not politics, but morals; to foster, not partisanship, but the recognition of true merit wherever found; to have no narrower limits within which to work together for the elevation of man than the outlines of the world: these were the thoughts and hopes uppermost in the minds of the founders of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity."
-- Otis Allan Glazebrook, 1880
The Creed of Alpha Tau Omega
National Fraternity History
Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity was founded on September 11, 1865 to help heal the wounds of the North and South caused by the Civil War. ΑΤΩ now ranks among the top 10 national fraternities for number of chapters and total number of members. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United States and has initiated more than 229,000 members.
ΑΤΩ was founded by Otis Allan Glazebrook, Erskine Mayo Ross, and Alfred Marshall at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexigton, Virginia and was not established in imitation of or in opposition to any existing fraternity. ΑΤΩ was founded upon brotherly love, with Christian principles, not Greek principles, as the cornerstones of the Fraternity.
Local History
The Beginning
In the Fall Quarter of 1970, the Raw Meat Intramural Team was formed in Edwards Hall. Raw Meat fielded teams in numerous intramural sports, but also desired to help the campus and community. The group registered as a BSU student organization under the name Spartan Social Club. The club continued to field IM teams and began sponsoring many philanthropic events for the campus and community like the Easter Egg Hunt for the Boys Club of Muncie, and "Chicken Feed", a bbq chicken luncheon for the Muncie and BSU Campus Police. At the time Greek Life at Ball State was not a popular activity, and many fraternities were stereotyped as party houses. The Spartan Social Club had a desire to grow into a fraternity and prove what a "true fraternity" should be, and not what had become the norm at that time.
The Delta Kappa Sigma (ΔΚΣ) local fraternity was created in May, 1971. Ball State Interfraternity Council approved ΔΚΣ with the commitment to associate with an approved national fraternity. ΔΚΣ narrowed it's possible fraternity affiliations to three, and selected to become a colony of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. ΔΚΣ held is last meeting on October 24th, 1971, and the Ball State Colony of Alpha Tau Omega came into existence.
The colony was granted full chapter status in the Summer of 1972, and on
October 28, 1972 became the Indiana Theta Alpha Chapter of ΑΤΩ.
The first chapter house was established at 200 North McKinley Avenue,
two blocks south of the L.A. Pittinger Student Center in October, 1973.
Early Growth
By 1977, the Chapter had grown to an undergraduate membership of around 66 men.
The Chapter had a large number of upperclassmen in that year, and after May
commencement, the number dwindled to just under 30 men. In 1978, the Chapter began sending multiple delegates to the National Congress to attend a broader number of workshops, with a particular emphasis on recruitment. In that school year, the Chapter initiated 25 men, and for the following 10 years averaged 22-27 initiated members each school year. The Chapter undergraduate membership ranged between 55 to 70 members each year. The largest group of members came from the College of Architecture & Planning, and around the CAP building ΑΤΩ became known as "ArchiTect Omega." Like the 1970's, the 1980's saw the brothers of ΑΤΩ excel academically. Our term GPA was regularly the highest among fraternities, and the Chapter never finished out of the Top 3 fraternities from the mid 1970's into the 1990's.
In 1983, ΑΤΩ purchased 202 North McKinley Avenue, the adjacent parcel next to the existing chapter house. With the growth of the chapter came the need to expand the facilities of the Chapter. With the two parcels, the goal became clear to build a new structure designed specifically for frternity life.
In 1981, ΑΤΩ created a brand new signature event, "ΑΤΩ Powder Puff Football Tournament". The football tournament allowed sororities, women's dormitories and independent women's teams to participate in flag football. Proceeds for the event were donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. In the first year, the event raised $1,800, and by the 1990's, the event was raising $8,000 to $10,000 each year. In 1983, ΑΤΩ teamed with the women of ΧΩ to create another signature event, the "Omega Open" tennis tournament. Participation was slow for the event, and in the second year was switched to a golf tournament. The golf tournament drew more participants than tennis, and the event continued until the late 1980's and our focus returned to a singular signature event, the powder puff football tournament.
In 1982, ΑΤΩ teamed with the men of ΦΒΣ to host the first multicultural social event on the Ball State campus. In the next year the event was turned into a campus-wide Halloween dance at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom. The event drew a large enough crowd, that in the next year the men of ΑΦΑ joined in sponsoring the event. The Halloween Dance was last held in 1986, but showed that different fraternities could work together and organize events that benefit the campus.
In 1988, plans began to formulate for a new fraternity house. By the next year, a design
for a three-story house that could house 38 brothers, design was created by Tim Blake,
ΑΒ Class'84 was approved by a review board of alumni and undergraduate members.
A capital campaign began in 1989, and continued through 1992. Groundbreaking was
held in May, 1992, and the new house was completed by the end of September, 1992.
The Chapter's 20th anniversary celebration commemorated the opening of the new
house.
With the anticipation of the new chapter house, recruitment hit an all-time goal in
1991 when the Chapter initiated 44 men. The chapter headcount rose into the 95+
member range. In the following years, annual initaion rates ranged between 15 to 25
new initiates. ΑΤΩ became one of the Top 5 fraternities in size at Ball State.
Another chapter accomplishment was the dominance of the ΑΤΩ bike teams that raced in Bike-a-Thon, a 33 team race very similar to the IU Little 500. From the late 1980's to the late 1990's, ΑΤΩ consistently won the Greek Division of the race, and finished in the Top 5 overall. The six-foot tall trophies adorned the house's Alumni Room.
In May, 2002, the Indiana Theta Alpha Chapter of ΑΤΩ temporarily closed it's doors at Ball State University.
The first Ball State ΑΤΩ chapter house at 200 North McKinley Avenue. (1974)
A new ΑΤΩ chapter house was built at 200 North McKinley Avenue (1992).
The structure is currently the BSU police station.
Re-Colonization
Through the diligent efforts of the Indiana Theta Alpha Alumni Association, ΑΤΩ was re-colonized in October, 2009, and reclaimed it's charter in January, 2011.
Today, Indiana Theta Alpha Chapter of ΑΤΩ is alive and well at Ball State University. The Chapter has won numerous campus and national awards, including four straight ΑΤΩ True Merit Awards from 2018 to 2021. It is ΑΤΩ's highest national award for chapter excellence.
Current Chapter House at 1100 W. Riverside Avenue