Interested in becoming a member?

Formal Recruitment

In order to become a Sigma Nu, you must participate in a process called Recruitment. There are two different types of recruitment. Formal Recruitment (also called Rush) refers to the second week in January. Throughout this time, potential new members (also called rushees) visit each Fraternity chapter. On Wednesday evening, all rushees tour every house and receive their rush packets. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday each have two 2.5-hour sessions for rushees to visit a chapter of their choice. During these sessions, rushees may visit one house, two houses, or even all six. Finally, on Sunday, rushees are informed of which houses have given them a bid to join. Rushees then decide which bid to accept, and begin their life in their chosen fraternity!

The requirements to participate in Men's Formal Recruitment are:

  • Must be a registered student of Butler University
  • Cannot be a member of another North-American Interfraternity Conference fraternity
  • Must submit a Recruitment Application
  • Must have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher
  • Must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours

Open Recruitment

Open Recruitment refers to any time outside of Formal Recruitment when Butler Students may join a fraternity. Because freshmen are not allowed to become members of a fraternity during their first semester, Open Recruitment is generally for upperclassmen. However, freshmen may participate in Open Recruitment during the spring semester.

The requirements to participate in Men's Open Recruitment are:

  • Must be a registered student of Butler University
  • Cannot be a member of another North-American Interfraternity Conference fraternity
  • Must make their intentions known to the chapter(s) in which they are interested
  • Must have a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher
  • Must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours

Why Sigma Nu?

We, brothers of Sigma Nu at Butler University, could tell you a lot of reasons why we each chose Sigma Nu, and each and every brother could probably give you a different answer. The truth is that all of our brothers are individuals who joined for their own personal reasons. Here are just a few of the reasons why we think you might be interested in Sigma Nu:

  • Our chapter has been awarded the Pursuit of Excellence award every year for the past four years. This is quite an achievement because it indicates that we are one of the ten strongest fraternity chapters in existence.


  • Our chapter is well-respected regarding academics. We have been awarded the Regent's award nearly every year of our existence. This award indicates that we have had the top GPA on campus for at least one semester per year. When it comes to scholastic achievement, we are the strongest fraternity at Butler.


  • We are a social fraternity. Every fraternity can throw a party, but only Sigma Nu hosts the most anticipated and well-attended party of the year. Our annual Halloween party, Voodoo, is one of the major social events at Butler. Among our other activities are our "Dating Game" night with a select sorority, several informal events at local venues, and our annual formal dance, most recently located at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.


  • Regarding philanthropy, we are the only fraternity that has claimed the Lamp of Wisdom award for being the top Philanthropic Organization at the university. We host a powder-puff football tournament among the sororities that we call the "World Vision Bowl" because it raises money for World Vision. This organization provides for poverty-stricken areas in third-world countries. We also focus on our own community by volunteering for such things as Habitat for Humanity, the Special Olympics, Gleaner's Food Bank, and many more.


  • We have an outstanding scholarship program. This program rewards our brothers for scholastic achievement by rewarding them with scholarships that range up to $3,000 per year. We understand that a college education is both expensive and difficult, so we reward our outstanding brothers by making a financial contribution to their education. This is yet another reason why we excel in academics.


  • We also have a program set up so that we can help pay for GRE, MCAT, LSAT, and other preparatory classes for graduate school entrance exams. We want our men to succeed in the real world, and helping them to get into the best schools possible will aid that endeavor.


  • We have one of the nicest chapter homes on campus. After being completely renovated in 2002, we began a campaign to raise money for an addition to our chapter home. This addition is now complete, allowing nearly every man to live in a single, or with just one other roommate. This addition was made possible by contributions from our very involved alumni.


For more information about Sigma Nu, feel free to view these videos!

As you can see, there are many reasons why Sigma Nu is great at Butler University, and there are plenty more that have not been listed. The best way to find out if Sigma Nu is right for you is to come over and hang out. With the exeption of our weekly business meeting on Sunday evenings between 8PM and 9:30PM, visitors are always welcome!

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of Sigma Nu's Recruitment Chairman: Jonathan Spear at

Sigma Nu does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or age.