In 1923, fifteen young men met in their boarding house on Glenn Avenue to form a local fraternal club with the hopes of attracting a national fraternity affiliation.  Eighty-five years and almost 1,500 brothers later, the Alpha Iota chapter of Pi Kappa Phi holds the distinction of being one of the oldest chapters in continuous operation on the Auburn campus and in the national fraternity.

From that inauspicious beginning in 1923, the local fraternal club Tau Kappa Phi did indeed meet its goal of attracting a national affiliation.  On October 2, 1926, the club was installed as the Alpha Iota chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at a grand banquet attended by local brothers, national officers, and the president of Auburn University, then the Alabama Polytechnic Institute.  Under the leadership of Alpha Iota initiate Number One, James T. Russell, the chapter flourished and became a power among the campus fraternities scholastically, athletically, and socially.  From its original wood-frame chapter house on Glenn Avenue, the chapter built a beautiful brick home on College Street in 1940.  This home was expanded in 1960 and continued to be a prominent landmark on Auburn's main street until the 1980s when the university reclaimed the land for its planned conference center.  The new Alpha Iota house, a columned stucco home reminiscent of Greek temples of old, opened in 1986. 

Over eight decades, Alpha Iota members have been leaders on campus, in their communities and in the national organization.  Alpha Iota members rank among the most generous in giving to the national fraternity foundation, and a number have served in national offices in Pi Kappa Phi's Supreme Council.