In 1976, one of the fraternities at TCU dissolved, leaving a vacancy in Martin Moore Hall, thus allowing a new fraternity to colonize for the first time since the Greek system was introduced to TCU in 1955. The director of student activities began reviewing applications from national fraternities’ headquarters to decide on the new organization. In the spring of 1978, TCU chose Phi Gamma Delta because of “its strong national reputation, graduate population in the area and administrative abilities.”

The Chapter’s earliest document was a letter from Nationals dated January 19, 1978. The Assistant Executive Secretary for Chapter Services wrote to an area Graduate Brother, who was evidently involved in getting Nationals interested in TCU as a new Colony in the first place, about the plan for addressing the Inter-fraternity Council at TCU. “We have not forgotten … Phi Gamma Delta [in Fort Worth] in the past,” which referred to a Graduate Chapter in the area in the 1950s and ‘60s - over 2000 FIJI graduates from more than 80 chapters are now in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Bill Kramer graduated from Gettysburg University (the Xi Chapter founded in 1858) in 1978 and took a job as a Field Secretary for Nationals. After Ekklesia that summer in Chicago, they asked him to go to TCU to start the new chapter. In August 1978, he moved in the House-to-be to become familiar with TCU administration and Rush procedures. He went to the Student Center and set up a table outside the Main Cafeteria for passers-by to pick up material on the new fraternity on campus. The student activities director had also given him a list of those interested in starting a new fraternity.

After the existing fraternities held their Formal Rush, an open Rush for the new Colony was held. SMU FIJIs and UTA graduates threw the first event, a party on September 1st. They, as well as Kramer and other area graduates, ran that first Rush. On September 9th, they held an informal Rush meeting and that night the first seven, sophomores Tom Clifton and John Scinto, juniors Ron Ellefson, Gun Finley and Lynn Oates, and seniors Mark Ingle and Charles Stewart, were asked to pledge. After much deliberation, they finalized their decision on Sunday morning, September 11th, at Old South Pancake House on University Drive near Interstate 30. They accepted their bids and were to be regarded later as the Chapter’s Founding Fathers. A second open Rush was held and six more were recruited.

Bill Kramer stepped back at that point to concentrate on his Field Secretary duties and Larry Frymire (Texas ’76) stepped in and became the Colony’s first Purple Legionnaire. He instructed the new Colony members on most issues, like how to rush, organize mixers, etc., but stayed far enough away so that the organization would develop on its own. And it did; he said that many of the guys really did a lot of it on their own without a lot of help from him. Frymire called them “geniuses.”

On September 15th they held their first meeting and outlined their goals. The Colony By-Laws were organized about that time and soon the first Board of Chapter Advisors and House Corporation were established, consisting of Fort Worth-area graduates. After the TCU Student Organizations Committee approval, they petitioned IFC for membership on November 11th. The first Colony Cabinet listed Chuck Stewart as President, Vice President and Treasurer Lynn Oates, Recording Secretary junior Ricky Howard, and John Scinto as Corresponding Secretary. The Rush Chairman was Tom Clifton, Guy Finley headed Social and Pledge Education, Scholarship and House Manager was sophomore Scott Wilcox, and sophomore Jeff Naquin led colony activities.

The first organized interaction with a sorority was a mixer with Delta Delta Delta on September 27th. “Suppressed Desire” with the Kappa Alpha Thetas was the first theme party. For Homecoming that fall, FIJI/Theta won the Homecoming Spirit competition. Spring pledges benefited from the Colony’s first Big Sisters, all of whom were Thetas. The Big Sisters’ main responsibility was helping socially establish the newest members of the Fraternity on campus and especially within the Greek system.

To make the Chapter Room their own, the guys knocked down several shoulder-high dividers in the room (which had been painted to look like rock). They pulled up the red deep shag carpeting. There were pool cue stick dents in the wood paneling that needed attention. The Colony took out a loan for the renovations and got new furniture and carpet within a few months. The new members of the Delta Colony worked long hours in getting the Chapter Room renovated.

In the Colony’s second semester, Spring Rush brought six new pledges to raise the Colony total to nineteen. The first Pig Dinner was on April 25th with David Motheral (Texas ‘73) as the speaker - he was another area graduate who was instrumental in the Colony’s development. The Colony continued establishing itself that year and the next with on-campus activities, IFC positions, intramurals success, strong rushes, philanthropic events, Outstanding Greek Male awards, and even as Homecoming Queen escorts. The first FIJI Islander party was not held until the spring of 1980.

In the summer of 1980, “seven of us traveled to the 132nd Ekklesia with the primary purpose of proving our Colony was qualified to receive its charter... and were told that we were accepted as the 115th Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta.” (from then-sophomore Larry Parsons’ report for the Phi Gamma Delta Quarterly) The week leading up to the chartering was exciting, with $4000 raised for the weekend’s activities and parties planned. The night of October 31, 1980, the Fraternity’s Executive Director William S. Zerman (Michigan ‘49) spoke to the Colony, which was followed by the Formal Pledging ceremony for the 28 active Colony members and 22 Fall pledges. Their “one-night pledgeship culminated with a cocktail party at Colonial Country Club.” Guests included Executive Director William Zerman, Archon President Joseph B. Carney (Depauw ‘50), and Director of Chapter Services William A. Martin III (Mississippi State ‘75), who is the current Executive Director. The next morning of November 1st, the Ritual Team of Chris Burdette (TCU ’81), David Motheral, Orsen Paxton (UTA ‘71), John Bratton (Cornell ‘45) and Phil Meek (Ohio Wesleyan ‘59) helped install the new Tau Chi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. The team conducted the installation at University Christian Church and it lasted most of the morning. At 2pm the team installed the Cabinet, and then at 5pm composite pictures were taken of the charter members in tuxedos. The installation week wrapped up that night with a banquet and dance at Rivercrest Country Club.