Four original members: Alan Wolfe, John Pfeiffer, Brian Roehrig, and Robert Shafer

On January 31, 1975, Alpha Provisional Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order became Delta Upsilon Chapter; the result of over two and a half years of dedication, determination and diligence a handful of young men striving to bring a more true and meaningful brotherhood to the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin.

It initially began in April of 1972 when Bryan Roehrig, Jerry Franklin, and Hunter Johnson sent a letter to the Kappa Alpha Order National Office in Atlanta, stating their desire to form a KA chapter at UTM.

On September 26, 1972 an organizational meeting was held in apartment 15, Lee Hall, for the purpose of forming a local fraternity: Kappa Alpha Kappa. Kappa Alpha Kappa was appropriately chosen for "Kappa Alpha Kolony" and sought to live up to the following ideals of leadership, scholarship, brotherhood, service and chivalry.

Kappa Alpha Kappa spent the remainder of Fall '72 seeking campus recognition. On January 31, 1973, just four months after the first organizational meeting, Kappa Alpha Kappa was officially recognized on the UTM campus.

The first day of recognition on campus was also KAK's first fraternity rush. Although the turnout was disappointingly small, KAK acquired three pledges. Shortly afterward, Roehrig wrote the KAK initiation and pledge induction ceremonies. He also designed the KAK crest, pledge and active pins.

With the Spring of '73 came KAK's first social, three new pledges, and the sending of Kappa Alpha Kappa's informal petition to KA National to be voted on by all the chapters within Chandler Province.

That summer the petitioning KAK chapter sent its first delegate to the National kappa Alpha Order Convention held August 11 - 17 in New Orleans. Bryan Roehrig attended and witnessed what proved to be a historic moment for both Kappa Alpha Kappa and the Order. It was during the 1073 Convention that the current provisional chapter system was voted in. KAK was also recognized by Nationals as a local fraternity working for a colony. With the new provisional system voted in, KAK unofficially became the first provisional chapter.

The Fall quarter brought many new changes to the fraternity. The brothers got their first apartment in Lee Hall, apartment 10. This apartment gave the fraternity unity as well as a place to party. Fall quarter also saw KAK's best rush with seven new pledges. This was to be the last KAK pledge class.

In November, the chapter received very exciting news: the letter of acceptance as Kappa Alpha Order's first provisional chapter.

Winter quarter of 1974 was an important and exciting time for KAK. According to Roehrig and Wolfe, the first big event was the arrival of two National Officers: Uly S. Gunn, Senior Councilor of the Order, and Dick Barnes, Director of Chapter Services. their January 7 visit was the final determination as to whether KAK would receive its provisional charter.

On January 15, KAK was presented with the first Provisional Charter of the Order. Each member was inducted as a Kappa Alpha pledge and the chapter then became known as Alpha Provisional Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order.

Two days after receiving their provisional Charter, the brothers were saddened by the death that day of Senior Councilor Uly S. Gunn. KAK was the last group to be officially approved for a chapter by Brother Gunn and the brothers felt especially close to him.

By Spring quarter '74, Alpha Provisional Chapter moved into tis first house at 110 O'Henry Street, and continued work on charter requirements. By Fall of 1974, the last of the requirements were diligently being worked on. Rush was on everyone's mind and Fall rush that year was a huge success, raising the number of brothers int he chapter to 25, the minimum requirement in order for a provisional chapter to receive its charter.

In early January, 1975, Alpha Provisional Chapter was notified by Nationals that they had been approved for an active charter in the Order. January 31 was set as the day of chartering and lost of last minute planning and work awaited the brothers.

On Friday, January 31, after two and a half years of hard work, Alan Wolfe on behalf of the brothers of Alpha Provisional Chapter, received the Charter of an active chapter from former Knight Commander Richard T. Feller. The installation ceremonies were held in the University Center Ballroom at UTM. The chapter was designated Delta Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order.

On the following morning , February 1, the 25 men of Delta Upsilon were initiated according to the customs of the Order by the brothers of Delta Nu (Murray State) and Gamma Omicraon (Lambuth) Chapters.

Of the eight founding member of KAK, only four were initiated in to the Order. The charter members of Delta Upsilon were:

The Fall of 1975 was a time that saw KA becoming more respected and recognized on the UTM campus. Tom McCutchen, a UTM Geology professor, was inducted and later initiated as an alumnus of the Order. He became Delta Upsilon's second Alumnus Advisor and served faithfully in that capacity for two years.

During the Spring of '76, Delta Upsilon saw a nice change of scenery when the brothers moved into an older, more "traditional-looking" house at 315 Oxford Street. It was old, but it was larger and better suited the needs of a growing chapter. The brothers quickly got the somewhat neglected house back into shape and made it something to be proud of.

By the Fall of '77, the number of alumni had grown enough that there was talk of forming an official alumni chapter and by the next winter quarter plans were finalized for the chapter.

Spring of 1978 proved to be very busy for Delta Upsilon. The chapter had three goals in mind: Receive the National Samuel Z. Ammen Award for Chapter Excellence, win All-Sing, and find a new house. When All-Sing rolled around in late April, over two months of long, hard practices paid off with KA winning first place by a wide margin. During Summer of '78 at the KA National Leadership Institute, another of Delta Upsilon's goal was attained with the presentation of the Samuel Z. Ammen Award for Chapter Excellence to Delta Upsilon.

Over twenty years have passed since that first small handful of men dedicated themselves to the hopes and aspirations of bringing something better and more genuine to the fraternity system at UTM. They worked hard and, at time, encountered many obstacles which threatened to stop them short of their goal. However, they continued to work with dedication and spirit; never learning the meaning of the word quit. They had one dream, one goal in mind: to be Kappa Alpha.

Within two and a half years, they had the Charter in their hands. They were still not satisfied, however. they had learned what excellence really meant and realized that they must continue to strive for its quest.

The spirit of determination and the quest for excellence has successfully been passed down from those brothers of the past. The Delta Upsilon of today had changed very little from the Delta Upsilon of yesterday. Sure, the chapter is larger and the faces are different but the values and teachings of the past are still cherished by the brothers of today.