The Harder You Work, the More You Savor Fun

The University of Idaho Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon has been producing business, political, and academic leaders for more than 95 years. Time in the classroom represents a minuscule percentage of a busy college life. Your willingness to take charge of your education will determine how successful you are as a student.

SAE exists to help you harness opportunity outside the classroom, including helping you commit to academics, engage in a fulfilling social life, hone your physical and mental health, and step up to lead whenever possible.

96-Hour Bid-to-Initiate Phase

Gone are the days of elongated pledgeships, "hell weeks," and subservience in the name of "earning the right to be a Brother." Today's college student needs more time to study, practice for athletics, and establish the social, academic, and professional networks that will provide the groundwork for success during and after college.

As a pioneering social fraternity setting the standard for pledge and member education, SAE seeks to be the positive foundation from which all of its members can build success.

Within four days of choosing to join SAE, every candidate will be granted full membership status after paying a membership fee and being initiated using the Initiation Ceremony from the Ritual of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Alcohol Awareness in a Dry House

No alcohol or illegal drugs are allowed on SAE property. Even so, alcohol and drugs are still a big part of college culture. SAE members receive extensive alcohol education and are required to complete the Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP).

Your safety, and that of your peers, is always a priority to the True Gentleman.

The Best Property on Campus

Built in 1932, the SAE chapter house sits at the gateway to the University of Idaho campus. Our corner property at the intersection of Deakin Street and Sweet Avenue can comfortably accommodate 58 live-in members, provides amenities such as WiFi, and includes ample free parking instead of crowded, contested parking.

Recent renovations have created a modern, streamlined interior beneath a classical, mostly original exterior. A great source of pride to all SAEs, the chapter house and grounds give active members the chance to manage a piece of pristine real estate, to budget and pay bills, and to feed and safely house dozens of young men who depend on the house as a home base during their collegiate years.

Our Creed

Hitching your wagon to SAE means committing to be a true gentleman. It's what guides all of us. The words are old, but their meaning is more relevant now than ever.

The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.

- John Walter Wayland