Sigma Phi Epsilon was founded at Richmond College in the early 20th Century. Richmond College was a small religious institution of around 200 students, which between a third and a half belonged to five fraternities already established there. In the fall of 1900, Carter Ashton Jenkens transferred to Richmond College from Rutgers University where he had been a member of Chi Phi Fraternity. Richmond College did not have a Chi Phi chapter. Brother Jenkens had sought the companions to take the place of the Chi Phi brothers he left behind at Rutgers. During his first semester at Richmond College, he found five men interested in starting a new chapter of Chi Phi at Richmond College. They applied for a charter, but the college already had five fraternities established and not very many students.
The six young men, although temporarily set back, decided to start their own local fraternity. These first six men included: Carter Ashton Jenkens, William Hugh Carter, Thomas Temple Wright, William Lazell Phillips, Benjamin Donald Gaw, and William Andrew Wallace. Of the six, Jenkens was the only one who really knew what a fraternity was and so the task of drawing the plans for their new fraternity was left to him. Brother Jenkens looked for a philosophy to base the ideals of this new fraternity on. He found in the Bible what he called, "The greatest truth the world has ever known." The name of Sigma Phi Epsilon was born in the philosophy of love - the only foundation on which the world can have peace. This is the principle on which our fraternity was founded.
In the initial stages of forming the Fraternity, the six original members found six others who were also searching for a campus fellowship that neither the current fraternity system or the campus could provide. The next six members include: Lucian Baum Cox, Richard Spurgeon Owens, Edgar Lee Allen, Robert Alfred McFarland, Franklin Webb Kerfoot, and Thomas Vaden McCaul. On November 1, 1901, the twelve founding fathers printed a roster of the Fraternity and Brother Jenkens was listed as the first member.
The founding fathers set up committees to plan for recognition by the college. They had to prove to the faculty committee that there was a need for a new fraternity, that their organization had provisions set up to continue growth, and that the name of the Fraternity would be Sigma Phi Epsilon. The committee of Jenkens, Gaw, and Phillips decided that this fraternity would be different. It will be based on the love of God and the principle of peace through brotherhood. The number of members will increase from the undergraduate classes. The faculty committee was impressed with their presentation and the permission for the organization of this new fraternity was granted, provided that all the consequences would rest on the twelve founding fathers. On October 22, 1902, Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity was chartered by the state of Virginia, which converted the local fraternity into a national fraternity that could be chartered on other campuses around the nation.
In the 1920s at Howard College, a group of men created the local fraternity Sigma Delta Chi. After a few years they decided to expand their fraternity and join with a national fraternity and the best was chosen, Sigma Phi Epsilon. On May 16, 1931 the charter was signed and the Alabama Gamma Chapter was born. Due to different circumstances creating a lack of manpower, the charter became inactive in 1937.
In 1995 Samford University saw a need for the presence of another national fraternity on campus. Different fraternities made presentations and SigEp was selected to establish a chapter. A colony was created and independent men were interviewed and initiated as brothers joining the brotherhood of Sigma Phi Epsilon. In 1997 the original charter was reactivated and the chapter became a Balanced Man Chapter.