Matt Wilson has worn several hats and played a multitude of roles on behalf of Delta Tau Delta over the years. He muses, “My three and a half years as an active member of the fraternity are kind of a blip on the screen relative to all my involvement.”
But it all began in 1986, second semester of his freshman year. Though no fraternity had won his loyalty during his first time through rush, a pair of standout personalities made the difference the second time around.
“There were two guys in the fraternity who were fantastic at recruitment: B.J. Jenkins ’87 and Brent Coan ‘87. I think they probably batted .1000 in terms of getting the guys that they wanted. They were two years older than me, and when they rushed you, there was no way you could say no. These guys were smart and cool, and you just wanted to buy what they were selling.”
He remembers the atmosphere around the Delt house as “a little bit more close knit, like a family.” He notes, “It was a little bit smaller, but you could sense that there was ambition to get bigger and better. It was sort of like the energy you’d see around a startup that had a lot of momentum behind it, and you just wanted to be a part of it.” The vibrant state of the chapter gave little hint of the rigors DTD had endured to reach that point.
“There was a formal rush process that everybody went through, and it required that you went to a certain number of what they defined as large houses and a certain amount of houses that were considered smaller. Back then I think the cutoff was like 80 members, so if the fraternity had more than 80 members, it was a Blue house, and if it had less than 80, it was an Orange house. Delts were growing so fast that it was actually over 80 at that point, but still somehow listed as an Orange. So they benefited by having everybody come through there, but also really having all the advantages of a larger house in terms of the social calendar and all that stuff.
“What I learned later was that the 70s were kind of a tough period for a lot of fraternities. You had the post-Vietnam anti-establishment stuff, and, you know, an ‘Animal House’ kind of mentality that was pervasive at that point. So the fraternity had gotten into trouble, and there were some bad actors. They wound up kicking a bunch of guys out, and so in 1981, the fraternity started with 11 guys and built up, by the time I went through rush in 1986, to over 80. In a period of five years, they had nearly lost their charter, and then wound up being one of the best houses on campus.”
For sure, lights-out recruiting and palpable energy were crucial differentiators for Delts, but Matt names another leading indicator that sealed the deal: “I wanted to join a house that had a good reputation and pledging in my second semester gave me the opportunity to hear people talk, especially women. I really trusted the impression that women had of the fraternities. So if women thought that we had good guys who treated them well and had fun, then that was almost the number one thing. That helped a lot.”
He calls his pledge class, “an incredibly talented group of guys; we had doctors, lawyers, business leaders, artists,” and he fondly recalls fun memories made inside the house and beyond. “Day-to-day activities were around what we called the ‘Tube Room,’ the TV room. You’d come in from class, and there were generally people sitting around watching MTV, back when they showed videos all day. You’d sit there, watch some videos for a while, and catch up with guys who were coming in and out of class. The barn dances were always a lot of fun, and the football blocks. We would pair up with a sorority and get football tickets together, and then tailgate and go to the game together. Back then the rules around bringing alcohol into the game were a little more lax. The fall of 87, we had a memorable football block season with Alpha Chi Omega. Good times.”
When Matt returned to Champaign in 1993 to work in fundraising for the University, it helped him to stay involved in various capacities, serving as chapter advisor and house corporation director and overseeing alumni communications. These days, Matt works alongside Brian Marshall ’91, a financial advisor at William Blair & Company in Chicago, but maintains his residence in Champaign. In some ways, it is a journey that seems to be coming full circle. Having joined the house as it looked to rebound from a loss in membership, he now mentors students faced with similar conditions.
“We’re going through a bit of a challenge right now. Not quite like 1980, but we went through a membership review last Spring, and we felt like there were a lot of members who didn’t really understand what our fraternity was supposed to be about or never knew about the values and the mission and what it means to live those values. So we went through a process where we removed about half of the members from the chapter. We have a committee of alumni who have been a part of that, and it’s been a challenge.
“I think we will come out a lot better on the other side, kind of like what happened back in 1980-81. You lose your way a little bit, you reorganize, and you come back stronger. We have several really good young leaders who are going to get us back to where we should be. Our Brothers can rest assured that there are a lot of alumni involved in the process, and we’re going to make sure this goes well.”
Matt says that he has stayed involved out of “a sense of responsibility” inspired by the example of alums who provided guidance and support during his own college career. “The alumni who read this will know the name of Louis Michael Tobin (1901). They’ll know the names Bob Ferris ‘49, Jack Kamerer ‘64, and John Gleeson ‘68. Those were the alumni who set an example for me on how to steward a fraternity chapter.”
He also cites a law student who was serving as chapter advisor while he was in school, Greg Kazarian ‘84, as a source of inspiration. “He seemed much older and more mature than most college students,” Matt recalls. “He had this vision about the fraternity and what it should be that really resonated with me. He called it a ‘laboratory for leadership.’ It made me understand that we’re going to have fun, and we’re going to have parties and do the things that fraternities do, but it’s much more than that. That’s always stayed with me.”
Reflecting on a lifetime of connection to Delta Tau Delta, he summarizes the motivation behind his commitment: “Living in Champaign and being hands-on was a great experience for me. I just wanted other generations of young men to be able to have the kind of fraternity experience that I had, which was fantastic.”