Fraternity & Sorority Life’s Affiliation process helps ensure that students are joining university recognized organizations that offer safe fraternity experiences, provide well-established programs and resources, and are officially connected to the university. Affiliated fraternities are organizations where students can find a sense of belonging, have fun at social events and make lifelong friendships.
Affiliation History
In 2005, To increase the safety for new and current members, CU Boulder asked fraternity organizations to move recruitment to the spring and welcome live-in house directors. The fraternities on campus at the time chose not to agree with those requirements and disaffiliated. A decade later, after giving time and space for reform and education, CU Boulder re-invited fraternities in the area to affiliate with updated conditions. In 2017, Phi Delta Theta became the first fraternity to affiliate with campus under the new process.
Today, 10 fraternities are affiliated with the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) as members of the CU Interfraternity Council. Those fraternities have signed a Recognized Social Greek Organizations (RSGO) agreement that includes provisions to follow all university policies. The agreements also outline certain conditions aimed to increase safety, accountability and student success.
Fraternities in the Boulder area that have not signed a RSGO agreement are not affiliated with or recognized by CU Boulder.
Benefits of Affiliation
A Letter from the President
When I first came to CU Boulder, I had no interest in joining a fraternity. In fact, I fostered a lot of negative attitudes towards Greek life and fraternities in general. Throughout high school and even beforehand, I, like many others, saw fraternities portrayed in a negative light through the news, movies and other media sources, and I wanted no part of it. But on my third day on campus, I met a group of Delta Sigs and realized that I could not have been more wrong about fraternities. Today, I am a member of Delta Sigma Phi and the president of the CU Interfraternity Council, the group of fraternities that are affiliated with the university.
But what does it mean to be an affiliated fraternity? It is the norm at nearly every university for fraternities to be affiliated with their respective universities. All across the country, fraternities are working, productive and orderly members of the university community. All fraternities who affiliate with CU are considered official school organizations, as we choose to uphold and defend the values that the school represents. CUIFC fraternities enjoy privileges given to any other student organizations, such as access to university spaces for events, recruitment, philanthropic endeavors, etc. Additionally, we are able to officially partner with other affiliated groups, such as the 11 Panhellenic sororities, for events like Homecoming and Greek Weeks.
Most importantly, being an affiliated fraternity means striving for a better and stronger image of fraternities at CU, one without any of the negative stereotypes associated with fraternity life. Instead of refusing school oversight and support, we embrace it. CUIFC chapters continue to garner the best fraternity reputations on campus, and our houses are known for their gentlemanly membership, safe social events and healthy relationships with the greater Boulder community.
The negative stereotypes I associated with fraternities certainly still exist in unaffiliated chapters, but I am so proud to be in a fraternity that chooses to work hand-in-hand with the university instead of shying away from any partnership or oversight.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about Greek life or university affiliation.
Luke Lozano
CUIFC President