The National Panhellenic Conference was established in 1902 when Alpha Phi invited eight other sororities to a conference in Chicago to discuss the possibility of establishing an umbrella organization for women’s fraternities and sororities. In 1947 members of the National Association of Education Sororities were accepted as associate members of NPC, forming a single umbrella organization. National Panhellenic Conference affiliate organizations recognize the social aspect of Greek college life, but the primary purpose and focus of member organizations is community awareness and action through educational, economic, and cultural service activities.
In 1904–05, a fledgling women’s Panhellenic organization was formed at UT. There was a lapse of some years, and the organization was reconstituted about 1916–17. In 1929 the sororities banded into a Panhellenic Council for general policy making and mutual strength.
The UT Panhellenic Council is the College Panhellenic organization of the National Panhellenic Conference and is the governing body at UT of national sororities that belong to the National Panhellenic Conference.