BETA PHI GAMMA • ESTD 1966
SIGMA NU FRATERNITY • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Founded in the fall of 1966 by 23 Northern Illinois University students, Beta Phi Gamma began as a local fraternity built on scholarship, athletics, brotherhood, and campus involvement. Under early leadership that included Tony Marsiglia, the fraternity quickly established itself at NIU through service, social events, intramural competition, and Greek life participation.
HARD AT WORK
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Pledge Work Winter 1969: Doug Pletika, Tim Kedzuch, and Dennis Sadlicki take care of business during the Winter 1969 pledge season. Papers spread across the table capture a less formal side of fraternity life—the meetings, assignments, and everyday work that happened away from the larger campus events.
WINTER 1969 PLEDGE CLASS
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
The Winter 1969 Pledge Class: Gary Wayne, Mark Mudra, Tom Wolff, Bill Bradner, Jim Locassio, Tim Kedzuch, and Chris Ramsey are pictured during the Winter 1969 pledge period - a snapshot of the new members joining Beta Phi Gamma as the local fraternity continued to grow at NIU.
SURVIVING THE CANOE
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Survival of the Canoe in 1969: Paul Seils and Jerry Ryden find themselves in the middle of the action as the Lagoon erupts into splashing, scrambling, and crowded canoes. Whatever the final standings were, staying upright appears to have been nearly as much of an accomplishment as reaching the finish.
MAKING A SPLASH
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Making a Splash in 1969: Things get a little wet at the NIU Lagoon, with Larry Boress in front as canoes, competitors, and plenty of water collide. The Lagoon was a popular setting for campus activities, and scenes like this capture the spirited competition surrounding fraternity life at NIU.
GAMEDAY AT NIU
SIGMA NU FRATERNITY • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Sigma Nu members gather on the field during a spirited day of campus competition. Jim Locaascio, Brian Summer, Jim Henderson, and John Kilpatrick are among those pictured, capturing the chapter’s strong involvement in intramural sports and the energy surrounding fraternity athletics at NIU.
SUMMER BREEZE
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
An Evening at the Lagoon: With historic Altgeld Hall rising behind them, Bob McGee, Roger Long, Tony Marsiglia, Mark Mudra, Chris Ramsey, and Bill Bradner gather near the Lagoon. It’s a photograph that captures not only the men, but the NIU campus they knew.
LIFETIME BROTHERHOOD
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Near the Lagoon 1969: Bill Bradner, Larry Boress, Bob McGee, Paul Seils, Jerry Ryden, and Mike Lewan enjoy a lighter moment during the 1969 Lagoon activities. Wet clothes, big smiles, and Beta Phi Gamma shirts say almost everything needed about the mood that day.
AFTERHOURS
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Beta Phi Gamma After Hours 1969: Costumes, characters, and a packed room capture the social side of 1969. Pictured are Paul Seils, Linda Busse, Bill Brimm, Cherry Porter, Pam Bruck, Jim Locassio, Ellen, Mike Lewan, Chet Galezio, and Roger Long—proof that fraternity history wasn’t made only in meetings.
SOCIAL MIXERS
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
A 1920s-themed party brings a little vintage style to fraternity life in 1970. Tim Kedzuch, Cherry Porter, and Mike Lewan are pictured in costume, capturing the playful side of the chapter’s social calendar and the creativity that went into its themed events.
MASON PROFIT EVENT
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Counting It Up: Accounting major Doug Cohen looks perfectly suited for the job as he handles money connected with a 1970 Mason Proffit concert. Surrounded by envelopes, paperwork, and stacks of cash, Cohen represents the behind-the-scenes work required to make a campus event happen.
PREPARING FOR SIGMA NU
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Preparing for Sigma Nu: Mike Lewan and Jeff Lippert work on new Sigma Nu letters during the transition from Beta Phi Gamma. It is a simple photograph with considerable meaning: familiar surroundings, new symbols, and the chapter preparing to enter the next stage of its history.
THE NORTHERN STAR CAPTURES A FRATERNITY MILESTONE
SIGMA NU FRATERNITY • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
May 12, 1969 edition of The Northern Star captured an important moment, “SIGMA NU HAS ARRIVED.” The spread preserves the fraternity’s emerging Sigma Nu identity during the period leading toward the formal installation of Theta Eta in 1970.
A LEGACY BEGINS
BETA PHI GAMMA • SIGMA NU • NIU
A New Chapter - April 19, 1970: A milestone captured on the day Theta Eta Chapter was installed at Northern Illinois University. Pictured are Richard Fletcher, Executive Secretary of Sigma Nu; Chris Loziar of NIU; and Tony Marsiglia, representing the national fraternity, the university, and the men who helped bring the chapter to this moment.
TAKING THE OATH
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Inside the Northern Illinois University Student Center, members of the newly installed Theta Eta Chapter of Sigma Nu raise their hands during the formal installation ceremony. The moment captures the commitment that marked Beta Phi Gamma’s transition and the official beginning of a new chapter as Sigma Nu at NIU.
THE PROGRAM THAT MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THETA ETA
INSTALLATION DAY • APRIL 19, 1970
This original banquet program documents the formal installation of the Theta Eta Chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity at Northern Illinois University. Dated April 19, 1970, it preserves the ceremony, chapter leadership, initiates, alumni, and pledges who were present for one of the most important days in Theta Eta history.
THE MEN OF BETA PHI GAMMA
BETA PHI GAMMA • 1966-1967
The first Beta Phi Gamma composite captures the fraternity at the very beginning of its story at Northern Illinois University. At the center is President Anthony “Tony” Marsiglia, Theta Eta #1, alongside the early officers and members whose leadership, vision, and commitment laid the foundation for what would become Sigma Nu’s Theta Eta Chapter.
THE MEN OF SIGMA NU
SIGMA NU FRATERNITY • NIU • 1969-1970
This 1969–70 composite below preserves an early Sigma Nu Composite at Northern Illinois University, including chapter officers and members from an important transition period. This composite provides a remarkable record of the men present at the beginning of Theta Eta.
A NEW CHAPTER
BETA PHI GAMMA • SIGMA NU • NIU
the symbols of Beta Phi Gamma come down as the fraternity prepares to take on the letters of Sigma Nu.
832 HILLCREST • HOME OF THETA ETA
BETA PHI GAMMA • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
The chapter house at 832 Hillcrest became a familiar home for Sigma Nu at Northern Illinois University from the Fall 1968 - Spring 1980. With the Sigma Nu letters and insignia displayed prominently on the building, the house stood as a visible symbol of Theta Eta’s presence, identity, and growing place within the NIU Greek community.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE BETA PHI GAMMA STORY
HELP PRESERVE THE LEGACY THAT BUILT THETA ETA
This page is dedicated to preserving the history, brotherhood, and legacy of Beta Phi Gamma at Northern Illinois University. We welcome alumni, families, and friends to contribute stories, photos, names, dates, memories, and historical details that help tell the full story. Every shared piece helps honor the men who built our past, shaped our present, and strengthened the future of Theta Eta.
EXPLORE THE FULL CHUCK KOPELSON COLLECTION
MORE MOMENTS • MORE MEMORIES • MORE HISTORY
The photographs featured here are only a glimpse into the early years of Beta Phi Gamma and Sigma Nu at Northern Illinois University. The Chuck Kopelson Collection preserves many more candid moments, campus traditions, friendships, and milestones from this important chapter in Theta Eta’s history. Click the button below to explore the complete collection and experience more of the people, places, and moments that helped shape Sigma Nu at NIU.