Big Ten Announces Partnership With Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference and Chi Alpha Sigma have announced a partnership to welcome all 18 conference institutions into the National College Athlete Honor Society.

The arrangement makes the Big Ten the 14th collegiate athletic conference - and the first from NCAA Division I - to enroll its full membership in Chi Alpha Sigma this year.

“We’re proud to establish Chi Alpha Sigma chapters across the Big Ten Conference’s18 member institutions,” said Rutgers University Faculty Athletics Representative, Thomas Stephens. “This is an opportunity to annually recognize our students who are competing at the absolute highest level in the classroom and in competition.”

Seven Big Ten institutions had previous membership in Chi Alpha Sigma. Through this conference-wide partnership, all 18 Big Ten institutions will now be able to induct student-athletes of junior academic standing or higher who maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale into the National College Athlete Honor Society.

“It’s incredibly exciting to welcome the Big Ten into Chi Alpha Sigma,” executive director Kellen Wells-Mangold said. “The long tradition of combined excellence in athletics and academics and continued commitment to celebrating student-athlete achievement makes the Conference a perfect fit for Chi Alpha Sigma.”

Induction ceremonies will be held later this year on each Big Ten campus at times determined by the institutions. Inductees will also be eligible for additional national awards, postgraduate scholarships, and other benefits offered by Chi Alpha Sigma.

“This partnership is also a personal source of pride for Chi Alpha Sigma staff, as both [assistant director] BJ Pickard and I are alumni of Big Ten institutions,” Wells-Mangold added.

Wells-Mangold is a 2005 graduate of the University of Iowa, while Pickard earned his Master’s degree at the University of Washington in 2011.

Chi Alpha Sigma was founded in 1996 by then-DePauw University head football coach Nick Mourouzis. His goal was to provide outstanding student-athletes with an opportunity to become connected within a fraternal association that aligns their educational and athletic successes for a lifetime. The name “Chi Alpha Sigma” was chosen to identify the organization as a national “College Athlete Society.” 

Any four-year institution with membership in an association or organization that promotes academic achievement and varsity-level athletics competition while committing to the principles of integrity, sportsmanship, and overall development of their student-athletes may apply for membership in Chi Alpha Sigma. There are currently more than 460 active chapters across all divisions of college athletics in the United States.