Pi Kappa Phi came to Boise State fall 2013, and has quickly grown into a diverse group of men with one common goal, to redefine fraternity. Since our installment, we have been incorporated into IFC, and involved in as many Greek events on campus as possible. A willingness to be involved, and an active approach has helped us get in contact with the other fraternities at Boise State, and establish positive relationships.
Contacts on campus resulted in us hosting our first philanthropy event. In fall 2013 Pi Kappa Phi and Sigma Chi played a flag football game, and called it “Battle of the Roses.” Money made from ticket sales, as well as t-shirt sales, were divided between Sigma Chi’s philanthropy and Push America. After only roughly eight weeks of existence our associate chapter upset the largest fraternity on campus, as Pi Kappa Phi won 34-33 on a last second play. This highly competitive game, along with a victory for the underdog made for a very successful event that is now slated to become a tradition. The second annual Battle of the Roses is already scheduled for fall of 2014.
A few weeks after the victory the men of Pi Kappa Phi at Boise State continued to celebrate by hosting a successful Pedals for Push event, the highlight being a 24-hour bike-a-thon in the middle of campus. At this point the chapter consisted of 27 men, meaning each member biked for just under an hour. Despite horrible weather and a relatively small amount of men we managed to raise roughly $1,100 for Push America in 24 hours.
As a chapter, a bond and expectation of success was established early via Pedals for Push and the Battle of the Roses Championship. Success continued as a common theme when we were awarded with the title “Most Spirited” for the 2013 Homecoming Parade competition.
December 10, 2013, we joined the rest of our brothers across the country and celebrated Founders Day with a Founders Day dinner. Celebrating the establishment of our fraternity created an additional opportunity for our men to continue our bond, and work to develop our friendships into brotherhood.
Following fall semester we sent our Archon and Vice Archon to the Mid-Year Leadership Conference in St. Louis, Missouri (additional members of executive council were yet to be assigned). They were able to gather valuable knowledge that has contributed greatly to our continued success.
Spring 2014 has proven to be a busy and eventful semester for Pi Kappa Phi at Boise State. Our primary focus this semester has been to work towards our charter. But another area we have excelled in is supporting other organizations in their philanthropy events, and creating a supportive and positive reputation on campus.
Delta Upsilon hosted a philanthropy event kickball tournament between the Greek organizations on campus. To play each team had to pay a fee, and all proceeds went back to their philanthropy. We submitted two teams, “Pi Kapp White” and “Pi Kapp Blue.” Pi Kapp Blue Team won the tournament, beating Pi Kapp White in the championship.
We received our Certificate of Approval for Installation of the Boise State University Associate Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity on March 15, 2014. As spring recruitment was underway our fraternity grew to 43 members, making us the second largest fraternity at Boise State, and on April 13, 2014 we completed our “Ladder of Risk” training.
Our success continued with Boise State’s 2014 Greek Week. Greek Week is a five-day competition between all the Greek organizations on campus. Competitions include attendance to the opening ceremony, a talent show, a trivia style “quiz bowl”, and a relay-based “field day”. This event is taken very seriously amongst the Greek community, as a title comes with serious bragging rights. In our first Greek Week we were able to cap off what has been an extremely successful year for Pi Kappa Phi at Boise State with a first place finish out of 13 organizations.
This 2013-2014 school year has resulted in many successes for the Pi Kappa Phi Associate Chapter at Boise State. Winning Greek Week and The Battle of the Roses have been high points, but if you ask any of the men what they are most proud of they will tell you it is the $2,250 raised for Push America.