The Kappa Tau Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was established at UT on April 11, 1890. The fraternity of President Dabney, Phi Gamma Delta was the first to have a house on campus, renting the Janney Building (Mess Hall) from the time of completion of the new Barbara Blount Hall until the building was razed for construction of Wait Field in 1908. The chapter asserts that its members started Carnicus, captained the first football team, edited the first Volunteer, and edited the first school paper. Phi Gamma Delta was established at Washington and Jefferson in 1840. Its nickname, “Fiji,” is derived from the old Greek pronunciations of Phi (fee) and the first letter of Gamma (gee). The nickname was adopted as a device to reserve the use of the fraternity’s Greek letters for official items, such as the pin, flag, and chapter house plaque. The colors of the fraternity are purple and gold; its flower is the heliotrope; and its mascot is the owl. Its local philanthropy is the Love Kitchen. Traditions of the institution include the Porkus-Hummus Party, Fiji Island formal, and black diamond ball. Its traditional “yell” was: Hippi, hippi, hi / Rip, zip, zelta / Figi, ah ha / Phi Gamma Delta. Among notable alumni of the national chapter are Johnny Carson, Jack Nicklaus, Donald Trump, and Calvin Coolidge. A local alumnus, Judge John M. Thornburgh (BA, 1901; LLB, 1902), who served for 37 years as bankruptcy referee, was honored as UT’s oldest living alumnus at prefootball game activities in fall 1981, in the month he turned one hundred. He accepted the Diamond Owl pin—given to alumni who have been members for at least 75 years—from Phi Gamma Delta the same day.
The national organization closed the local chapter in May 2012 after a series of incidents involving alcohol at the house and reinstated the UT chapter in 2014.