Our History | Sigma Alpha Epsilon-Ohio Kappa Chapter

Ohio Kappa History

Sigma Alpha Epsilon has a long and proud history at Bowling Green State University. Our roots go back to 1922, when eight students founded a new local fraternity, known as the Five Brothers Fraternity. It was the first Greek Organization on Bowling Green's campus (then known as Bowling Green State Normal School). The Five Brothers was the first fraternity to have an official fraternity house, which was built at 410 South Main Street. It was sold in the 1960s, but it still stands to this day. One of the founders of the Five Brothers, Ivan Lake, was responsible for the Falcon being adopted as the mascot of BGSU after he suggested it during his time as the editor of the Sentinel–Tribune newspaper.

On May 26th, 1945, after years of petitioning, the Five Brothers Fraternity was installed as the Ohio Kappa Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. At this time, and in the years that followed, most of the Five Brothers founders and other alumni were initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

From 1955 through the early1960s, Ohio Kappa had envisioned building a brand new Chapter House on Biddle Street across from the University. The cost of this new house was to be around $150,000 in 1955, which is equivalent to about $1,500,000 in today's money. Land and designs were put together and approved, but plans eventually fell through after many years.

Our second house came along in 1950 when the University built "Fraternity Row." This house was to be home to 16 brothers and a House Parent, a University employee who used to serve a similar role as a modern Resident Advisor or Community Assistant. This house was known by brothers as "The Small House." Ohio Kappa stayed in it from the early 1960's through 1980. The house was perfect for many of the brothers during those years to hold many events called "Teas," or "Tea Parties." They were held weekly in the Chapter House and hosted different sororities. Many of these parties had different themes. During each of these "Teas", a brother would act as a DJ and play music for everyone else to have fun and dance to.

In 1980, the chapter made the controversial decision to move from "The Small House" into what became known as "The Big House," previously home to Pi Kappa Alpha. Ohio Kappa had many issues filling this new house, as it was very large and most upperclassmen wanted to live off-campus. It was one of the largest houses on campus and could house 48 brothers and a House Parent.

The House Parent at this time was the beloved Mother Douglass. Like all House Parents, she was charged with managing the house according to the standards of the University and our National Office. Typically, the role of a House Parent was filled by a person who had retired from a previous profession. But in 1983, the University decided that a Graduate student would better fill the role, so House Parents were slowly phased out. Mother Douglass, who had spent the better part of a decade with the Ohio Kappa Chapter, was the last official House Parent on campus. She could commonly be seen riding around campus on an adult tricycle.

After certain misfortunes at the end of the 20th century, Ohio Kappa was recolonized in 2004 and rechartered on March 31st, 2007. At this time, the Chapter lived in the Conklin South building, next to Kappa Alpha Order and Delta Zeta. Those buildings were torn down in 2014 to make way for a new Greek Village in 2016. With the help of our gracious alumni, Ohio Kappa officially moved into our current 4 member Chapter House for the Fall Semester of 2016 and we have remained there since. With house number 21, it is the 5th official Chapter House.

Our alumni are the most prestigious of any fraternity on the BGSU campus. They are so influential to BGSU, some buildings are named after them. These include:

Doyt L. Perry Stadium - named for Doyt L. Perry. A legendary BGSU Football Coach and College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Kohl Hall - named for Dr. Clayton C. Kohl. He was an important advisor to the Five Brothers for many years and was later posthumously initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 1945.
Kreischer Quadrangle - named for Ervin Kreischer. He was an important Treasurer and VP of Finance for BGSU.

Other notable alumni of our Chapter include the following:

Ivan Lake - as previously stated, he was responsible for the Falcon being adopted as the mascot of BGSU. But he also was responsible for the Bobcat being adopted as the mascot of Bowling Green High School. In athletics, he played in the first winning game of the Bowling Green football team. He was the first BGSU Tennis Letterman, and was a member of the University's first Glee Club, as well as a member of the first men's Quartet Club. He helped organize BGSU's first Homecoming in 1922 and was later the President of the Bowling Green Alumni Association.
Richard B. Adams - Recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the highest and most prestigious national honor that Sigma Alpha Epsilon can bestow.
Richard Pohle - Vice President and CCO of Huntington Bank.
Donald Nehlen - Former head football coach of Bowling Green State University and of West Virginia University, author, and inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame. Former President of the American Football Coaches Association.
Harry Frankfather - Though he worked as a simple schoolteacher his entire life, he saved up enough money to donate $2 million to the University upon his death in 1998. It was the largest single donation in the University's history up to that point.

Throughout the years, Ohio Kappa has developed a rich history all across campus. We have produced many campus leaders that have participated in SICSIC, IFC, the Undergraduate Student Government, and many more. Ohio Kappa has been nominated for Chapter of the Year (The Zeal Award) by our Nationals.

The Chapter looks forward to another 100 years at Bowling Green!