Jan. 20, 2026 started this semester’s fraternity recruitment. This cycle saw 86 students apply, including nearly a third of the male freshman class. While these numbers were higher than normal, they did fall slightly due to GPA restrictions, with members of Furman’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) feeling optimistic about the potential new brothers.
Ben Henderson, junior and Vice President of Recruitment, said, “We over at IFC were very happy with the numbers and excited to welcome these men to the Greek community.”
Recruitment consists of five main events over six days: Orientation and Kickoff, Meet the Chapters, Brotherhood Round, Invitational Rounds, and Bid Day. Orientation introduces potential new members (PNMs) to the recruitment process. Meet the Chapters and Brotherhood allow PNMs to connect further with the chapters on campus and decide which ones they want to continue pursuing. Invitationals see chapters inviting interested and compatible members to express their interest in each PNM before bids are put in place. Bid Day is the final day where final decisions are announced and new members are presented to the chapter.
This year, however, saw several events postponed due to the ice storm on Jan. 25. Campus was closed from Jan. 24-27, including on-campus events like recruitment. Because of this, Invitationals and Bid Day were rescheduled for later dates. This became a problem for the IFC, as dates are scheduled far in advance to allocate ample time for chapters to recruit brothers according to national deadlines.
However, the IFC had planned for this change, as senior Joseph Kosak, former President of Recruitment stated. “We had made contingency plans for if the campus would close,” said Kosak. “Then, the worst-case scenario, which of course, ultimately ended up happening.”
Because the IFC is composed of students, they had no power in the decision itself. “We would leave it to higher administrations,” said Kosak. “They would have a fuller picture of the situation on campus than we would.”
Furman administrators chose to close campus and notified IFC leaders on the afternoon of Jan. 23, the same time as the rest of the student population.
Although members of the IFC believed the decision was made in good faith for student safety, some members expressed disappointment in their lack of involvement.
“I wish that we had been approached and asked whether we were able to still run our event in this weather. The chapters would have had no problem holding the Bid Day ceremony in Cherrydale or Watkins [when originally scheduled]. We simply were not given the opportunity,” said Henderson.
As the closures continued, Invitationals and Bid Day continued to be postponed, often to the dissatisfaction of PNMs. This was especially true as students suspected a second campus closure the weekend of Jan. 31 due to a second snowstorm, largely affecting Bid Day. The frustration around scheduling continued into that weekend.
“We had no clue whether it would be held in Watkins or forced to be moved to Zoom, due to a continual lack of communication from the administration. We were able to communicate with the PNMs about Bid Day when we were informed about campus closure, again, like everyone else,” said Henderson.
Ultimately, campus was closed from Jan. 31 to the morning of Feb. 2, only allowing select events to continue, including Bid Day.
Invitationals were held on Jan. 29-30, and Bid Day was held in the Watkins Room on Feb. 1. Students felt the weather had made the process too long and did not have the same excitement they felt at the beginning of recruitment. Two students dropped during this period.
“I think people were like ‘I’m so tired of just going through this. I want to be an organization already.’ They were just kind of ready to get it over with. And I get that,” Kosak explained. “Normally at this point, you’re still super excited, but you’re at the point where you’re just done. And I could tell people who were just done.”
After Bid Day, Spring Recruitment ended with 66 new members. Pi Kappa Phi gained 28 members, Sigma Chi gained 16, Sigma Nu gained 12, Sigma Alpha Epsilon gained six, and Beta Theta Pi gained four. Despite the challenges, these chapters are excited to welcome their new brothers.
