History
The Beginning
Kappa Upsilon Chi is a national fraternity for Christian men composed of Christian collegians seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Four men of differing denominational backgrounds created the Alpha chapter in the winter of 1993 at Texas Tech University in response to the demand for a Christian brotherhood on campus. The founders were Tyler Beard , David Boncler , Ken Rowland , and Matt Welborn. While they had looked at other established Christian fraternities, they felt as though a new order with more concentration on tradition and structure would be best suited for the Texas Tech campus. Two of the men were initiates of Phi Gamma Delta. They brought in their first pledge class of 13 that spring of 1993.
National Expansion
The movement from a local fraternity to a national fraternity occurred in the fall of 1995 when 12 men established a Beta chapter of Kappa Upsilon Chi at Wayland Baptist University. The four men had not previously planned on making the ministry a national fraternity however, the fraternity took off as the concept became more publicized.
The Gamma chapter was formed by 19 men in 1999 on the campus of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. This chapter now sustains an average of 45 active brothers a year.
Delta Chapter followed in 2001 in Milledgeville, GA when four men founded the chapter at GCSU. This chapter was the first to have an unofficial house.
The Epsilon chapter at the University of New Mexico was the first to start the trend of Alpha chapter alumni founding new chapters. Dr. Chris Schwab, now a member of the National Board of Directors was seeking his doctorate on campus when the opportunity arose to found the new chapter. Three men founded the chapter which has grown to initiated over thirty-five men since 2003.
Following that trend, the Zeta chapter was established at the University of Oklahoma in Norman when Nathan Rice was seeking a graduate degree in 2004. The Eta chapter was established in 2004 at Lamar University. Both of these chapters were initiated the night before the Theta and Iota chapters were inducted at the second-annual National Leadership Summit in Weatherford, Texas.
The Iota chapter opened in January of 2005 and closed the following fall.
Eta Chapter
The Alpha class of Eta chapter was inducted February 14, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas. The brotherhood consisted of Aaron Chinn, Cody Dowden, Tim Ervin, Clark Fertitta, Thomas Lee, Justin Lewis, Michael Reese, Corbett Thompson, and Jerrad Toups. Seven of these men were initiated in Weatherford, Texas on August 6, 2004 at the second-annual National Leadership Summit. Eta chapter's first officers were: Justin Lewis, President; Tim Ervin, Vice President; Cody Dowden, Secretary; Clark Fertitta, Treasurer; and Thomas Lee, Chaplain.