Pi Kappa Phi History

The fraternity movement began in 1776 when Thomas Jefferson formed a literary and political society with his closest friends at The College of William and Mary, and has been closely intertwined with the American experience ever since.

Fraternities have been born between men seeking brotherhood, fellowship, common understanding, and lifelong commitment, in nearly every imaginable environment – from the battlefields of the Civil War to the dining hall of a New York college to the second floor of a downtown storefront in Charleston. More than 250 years of leaders, scholars, athletes, citizens, and stewards have been shaped and built by the fraternity experience, and Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity is proud to be a leading member of that legacy.

Founded as Nu Phi (the non-fraternity) in Charleston, South Carolina at the turn of the 20th Century, we have grown from humble beginnings based in friendship and trust to a nationwide brotherhood of more than 80,000 men, living and leading in every state and community in our Union.

Learn of the proud history of the American Fraternities, the birth of Nu Phi, and the development of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity.