Rush Secret
Want to hear something tremendous? Back in the Fall of 1999, I noticed
that Pi Omicron (Kentucky) Mu Omicron (Tenn.) and Epsilon Upsilon
(Louisiana) had the largest pledge classes in all of TKE.
Now, neither of these chapters are located at real large Universities.
None of them had big houses at that time. None were located at
traditional "Big Greek" schools. So, how did they do this? How did
these chapters recruit such large pledge classes that Fall?
While I had never had the pleasure of visiting Pi Omicron in Kentucky, I
had been to both Mu Omicron and Epsilon Upsilon a number of times and
knew their campus well, and the history of the chapter. I first visited
Mu Omicron back in 1983 (Rush Coach visit), and knew that this was a
chapter in a very small house located close to a campus that was known
for it's engineering, and had a male enrollment of about 5,000. I also
had visited Epsilon Upsilon a number of times and knew that they had a
small "lodge" on top of a hill looking down on the Kappa Sigma
"mansion".
Like you, I wanted to know so I placed some calls. Guess what I
learned? Both Mu Omicron and Epsilon Upsilon experienced the tremendous
increase by doing "SUMMER RUSH"! Yes, they talked to guys about TKE
before they arrived for IFC Rush, before the incoming students saw the
campus, before the other fraternities had a chance to talk to them.
They had first shot at the sharpest guys, the ones with the good grades,
the ones with a good record for Leadership or Athletic involvement in
High School and asked them to join during the summer!
Just think of the possibilities for your chapter using such a program.
If you go on the TKE Web site, you will see an article about the
"Triangle of Achievement" program developed by Beta Sigma in California.
Beta Sigma wanted to build a massive house. Beta Sigma wanted to
increase their membership so they could afford the new house. . But,
Beta Sigma wanted only the best guys, not just "numbers". As they say,
"the rest of the story" is history now. Beta Sigma got what they were
after, and shared their program with the rest of TKE.
However, both Mu Omicron and Epsilon Upsilon used their own version of
Summer Rush. They did not use the actual Triangle of Achievement
Program. They used basically the same Summer Rush program
that Epsilon (Ames, Iowa) has used for over 20 years. They obtained a
listing of Incoming Freshmen from the school, and contacted them over
the summer and invited them to several events of which some were in the
students hometown. They made friends with them, told them about TKE,
and asked them to join. Some even signed contracts to move into the
fraternity house, instead of the school dormitory. Some made their
decision without ever setting foot in a Teke House. All made their
decision before any other fraternity had a chance to talk to them.
All across the country, the story is nearly the same. Too many IFC rush
rules. Many students elect not to participate in IFC Fall rush for
various reasons. Many schools are seeing declining numbers pledging.
Many chapters are complaining about the quality of those who do pledge.
Perhaps it is time YOUR chapter took a serious look at Summer Rush.
T. Rod O'Neal
Knight of Apollo
Grand Province Advisor (Louisiana)
Dean of TKE Rush Coaches
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