About

Our Story

SMU Texas Delta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta was founded in 1922. As we approach our 100th year anniversary we took a Phikeia class that contains 37 of the most promising young men to walk SMU's campus. Boasting the 3rd highest GPA on campus Phi Delt is one of the most prominent houses both academically and socially. With charity events running year around and our large gala, Casino, Phi Delt is very involved in the Dallas community.

Phi Delt is based upon three moral foundations: friendship, sound learning and moral rectitude. We exist to make every man the greatest version they can be.

International History: The Beginning
As the Christmas holidays approached in 1848, the atmosphere on the Miami campus in Oxford, Ohio was gloomy and uncertain. This was the mood in which Robert Morrison suggested to a close friend and classmate, John McMillan Wilson, that they consider putting together a new collegiate brotherhood.

From this elemental beginning, Phi Delta Theta evolved into the positive international force for good it has become over the past 159 years.

“The Immortal Six” – Founding Fathers

Morrison and Wilson, thinking in terms of providing a permanent base with growth potential, sought out underclassman they visualized as joining them. Thus juniors John Wolfe Lindley and Robert Thompson Drake were approached, as were sophomores Ardivan Walker Rodgers and Andrew Watts Rogers, all of who accepted the concept.

All six men were among the depleted ranks of Miami students who did not attempt to go home to join their families for the Christmas holidays because of the difficult travel conditions and bitter winter weather.

The need for close companionship had to be evident when the six met the night of December 26, 1848 in Wilson’s second floor room in Old North Hall, directly above Morrison’s room. They firmed up their desire to establish a brotherhood.

They met two nights later in the same room to consider an appropriate motto and constitution. Morrison and Wilson put the consensus ideas into terminology that became The Bond that every initiate has signed to become a member of the Fraternity.

On December 30, the “Immortal Six” put their signatures to The Bond of the Phi Delta Theta in Wilson’s room in Elliott Hall. Their names remain a vital part of the rituals that continue today in every chapter room across the United States and Canada. The Bond has remained unchanged from that day to this. So far as it is known, it is the only document of any fraternity of such a character, and it is easy to understand the veneration with which all Phis regard it.

The first branch of Phi Delta Theta was established at Indiana University in October of 1849 and other chapters followed at Centre College and Wabash College. The real growth occurred during the two decades from 1870 to 1890 due principally to the efforts of Walter B. Palmer, Emory-Vanderbilt 1877, and George Banta, Franklin-Indiana 1876. The two were given the title Second Founders for their work.

National Famous Phi- Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds was born on February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan. He attended Florida State University on a football scholarship and joined Phi Delta Theta. Due to a football injury, he started to pursue acting and soon discovered a true passion. He appeared regularly on television, but his 1972 appearance in the film Deliverance was a breakthrough role. He was a leading film star in the ‘70s and ‘80s. His role in Boogie Nights earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe. In 1977, Burt Reynolds starred in the famous film, Smokey and the Bandit. The film combined the appeal of watching high speed chases with the appeal of watching Reynolds, Sally Field, and the comedic stylings of Jackie Gleason. It was the second highest-grossing movie of 1977, directly behind Star Wars. During 1957, He received his big break after he appeared in a New York City Center revival of Mister Roberts and subsequently signed a TV contract. With regular roles on Riverboat, Gunsmoke, Hawk and Dan August, Reynolds became a familiar face to television audiences. Also, both handsome and charming, Reynolds increased his popularity in the early 1970s by appearing on numerous TV talk shows.

SMU Famous Phi- Doak Walker
Ewell Doak Walker Jr. (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) joined SMU on a football scholarship. He played college football as a halfback at Southern Methodist University, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. Walker then played professionally in the National Football League with the Detroit Lions for six seasons, from 1950 to 1955. Walker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. The Doak Walker Award, awarded annually since 1990 to the top running back in college football, is named after him. Phi Delta Theta at SMU is proud to have had Walker represent our fraternity throughout the football world.

The Leader in the Fraternity World
Phi Delta Theta was the first Fraternity to create an endowment for free lifetime subscriptions to the Fraternity magazine called The Scroll, a plan later adopted by nearly every other fraternal organization. Phi Delta Theta was also the first to adopt a pledge button and the first to publish a pledge manual.

Phi Delta Theta members have occupied every major public office including the presidency and vice presidency of the United States, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, State Governors and Senators in the Canadian House of Commons. Phi Delta Theta also holds the unique distinction of having Brother Neil Armstrong as the first man on the moon. (pictured)

The Fraternity continued to grow and expand surviving tough times such as war, the Great Depression, and the civil rights movement. The 1980s changed the way Fraternities conducted business with new legal charges in suits involving alcohol abuse, hazing, and discrimination. Fraternity insurance and risk management programs were born and new educational program initiatives were directed at combating these issues to ensure the safety and well being of our members.

As an organization, we’ve taken steps to prevent all hazing and alcohol abuse. And recently, the Fraternity has undergone one of its largest growth spurts in the history of the modern Fraternity. This indicates a renewed demand for a values-based organization from college students. Phi Delta Theta continues to be a model for other Greek organizations looking to make the same positive move.

Phi Delta Theta now has nearly 160 active chapters in 43 states and five Canadian provinces. The Fraternity has initiated more than 228,000 men and currently has more than 142,000 living alumni. There are over 100 recognized alumni clubs across the U.S. and Canada.

The Fraternity operates from the General Headquarters building on South Campus Avenue, across from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. At the corner of the campus closest to headquarters, memorial gates were erected in honor of the Fraternity’s 125th anniversary.

The "Frat"

Get To Know Us

President: Charles Woodside
(Second left)
Vice President: Cameron Goldean
(Right)

Thirty-Seven Member
Strong 2018 Pledge Class