In the years from 1941 to 1945, there was a shortage of men on campus because of World War II. There were male students interested in becoming members of a Greek lettered fraternal organization, so a group of men formed what was called the Lions’ Club in 1943. The members of the Lions’ Club were mostly football players, who were not playing because the school did not field a team during the war, as stated by charter member Brother Harold Vault. This group listened to every Greek organization’s graduate chapter’s pitch for them to join their organization. Finally, the group decided on Omega Psi Phi because every male who had an important position on campus was an Omega Man as stated by charter member Brother C.C. Mercer.
Members of the Tau Phi graduate chapter worked tirelessly to get Tau Sigma established on the campus. The prospect of having Greeks on campus was met with strong resistance by the administration at the time. When Brother Lawrence Davis, Sr. became president of the school, the Brothers received the support they needed from the administration. Then they sought the fraternity’s permission. At the Grand Conclave in Little Rock in 1944, Brother Davis, Sr. asked permission from the floor of the Conclave to establish the chapter. It was granted and the charter line of eleven Brothers Junious Babbs, Theodore Delaney, Amos Henry, Lester Hildreth, Carl E. Jones, Theodore Kirby, Christopher C. Mercer, Russell Simpson, E.G. Troupe, Harold Vault and George Wood, was initiated on March 11, 1945. Brother Butler T. Henderson (Eta Omega 5/9/43), who was a member of the Tau Phi graduate chapter in Pine Bluff at the time, was instrumental in founding the chapter and served as faculty sponsor for the group. Tau Sigma chapter was established as the 65th chapter of the fraternity and the first Greek lettered fraternity on the campus of Arkansas A.M.&N. now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
