It can be said that the American college fraternity is as old as the United States, for in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa was founded at the College of William and Mary. From that time until the Civil War, no appreciable changes occurred in the fraternity system; however, starting in 1865, fraternities became more and more popular, and today Greek-letter fraternities are recognized as an integral part of the American educational system.

Today fraternity traditions, dating back half a century or more, are stamped with the circumstance and atmosphere in which they thrived many years ago. The college of today, however, has far outgrown those times; yet a resemblance to the halls of classical learning for the privileged few which existed remains. Stories of those college days have come to us clothed in romance and largely in fictional form.

The time came when the fraternity world expanded to allow into its midst greater numbers and not just an exclusive few. At this time, the broader thought of the university was included in the ideas of fraternity. Fraternity chapters then became self-governing campus units aiding in faculty administration. Later, as a result, fraternities earned the respect of the university and surrounding community.

At the start of the twentieth century, a number of older fraternities modified their policies and admitted larger numbers. Moreover, with the growth of these fraternities, new fraternities came into being. They came unhampered by tradition, unimpeded by caste, and sponsored by leaders of great foresight, indomitable zeal, and high ideals. And like many other organizations, Sigma Alpha Mu owes its founding to mere chance. Indeed, even the meeting at which it was founded was called with no thought of permanent organization at all.