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In the school year 1960-61 a group of outstanding young men from West Halls at East Texas State University, with common interests and beliefs, banded together to exploit their combined athletic talents.  Their excellence in sports was the catalytic force that brought these men closer together.  In March of 1961, this group of men approached the inter-fraternity council with the expressed purpose of being accepted into the inter-fraternity council.  They were to be known by the name Alpha Chi Alpha: “The beginning and the beginning”.

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It was felt that to create lasting brotherhood, which was the primary purpose of Alpha Chi Alpha, there would be a need to have something more than a local fraternity.  There was a great interest in being affiliated with the strongest national fraternity.  Among this newly found local fraternity were some men who had pledged Sigma Chi when they were at other colleges.  It was a unanimous decision that they would petition Sigma Chi for a Chapter.

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Following a year that would see them dominate sports, student government, and the inter-fraternity council, Alpha Chi Alpha realized their dream.  On November 22, 1963, Alpha Chi Alpha became the youngest chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity and, known from that date until eternity, as the Zeta Eta Chapter of Sigma Chi.