Eta Xi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was chartered on March 9th*, 1977.
The charter was the culmination of 3 years of diligent work by the Mississippi State
Representative, David Beckley, Bros. Walter Conley, Willie D. Humphrey, Curtis Williams,
Willie T. Dunlap, Clarence Smith*, Charles Wicks, and a host of other brothers in the
Golden Triangle.
The journey to Eta Xi began in the fall of 1974, when Mississippi State Representative
David Beckley contacted a young sophomore at MSU, one John E. Stiffin. Young Stiffin
had declined an offer to join the Order of Alpha, the first Black Greek letter organization
at State. The organization was not a recognized student organization. The “pledge” process
was disorganized, and as a result, all of the pledgees dropped, and the organization disbanded.
Bro. Beckley asked Stiffin to set up a meeting with other young men who were interested in
Omega Psi Phi. Brother Beckley did not follow through. In the interim, Kappa Alpha Psi,
Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma and Delta Sigma Theta all chartered chapters.
Two years later, interest in Omega began to stir anew. Brothers from Ole Miss came to State
and conducted an interest meeting. An Interest Club was formed to test the young men’s
enthusiasm for Omega. The Interest Club conducted community service activities, most
notably, cleaning a historic Black graveyard in Starkville. The Interest Club also provided
opportunities for these young men to forge lifelong bonds that ran through the entire group.
In May, the graduate Brothers who formed the nucleus of Eta Xi, interviewed the Interest Club
to determine their eligibility for induction into the Lampados Club.
Saturday, May 23, 1976, was a monumental day in the history of Omega Psi Phi. This was the
day that 24 young men were inducted into the first Lampados Club at Mississippi State
University. However, the Line went inactive for the summer.
When school started back in the fall of 1976, the Lampados Club dwindled to 11. These 11 Lamps
made it to the Greek Show, where they turned it out, thanks to the patience and diligence of
Willie T., “Woote” Dunlap, and Clarence Smith from Kappa Beta. After the Greek Show, these
Lamps waited for the call to go into “Hell Week.” It did not come until March of 1977.
In early March of 1977, The Fraternity granted a charter to Eta Xi, and on Sunday, March 14,
1977, Hell Week began for the Line. On Saturday, March 19, 1977, the first Undergraduates to
pledge at Mississippi crossed at 4 P.M, according to Larry Woods; Call Dog. The next day, Woote
branded those Neophytes who wanted a brand.
In August of 1977, the second round of crossings took place to induct the remaining two from
the Charter Line. Between 1977 and 1979, Eta Xi focused on pledging undergraduates, bringing
in 3 undergraduate lines. In 1980, Eta Xi crossed its first graduate line.
Spring 77
1 John Stiffin
2 Michael Jones
3 Willie Thompson
4 Larry Woods
5 Carl Lee
6 Alan Perry
7 Norris Bishop
8 Billy Hamiliton
9 James Pattman
Spring 1978
1 Marty Craddieth
2 Tony "Hollywood" Jones - Omega Chapter
3 William Andrews
4 Leon Foster
5 Ricky Reed
6 Wesley Allen
Spring 1979
1 Vincent Jones
2 Stanley Reives
3 David Marion
L
Spring 1980
1 Floyzell Edwards
2 Thomas Jamison
3 Carl Mose
4 Joe Woods- Omega Chapter
5 Elbert O’Quien Bradley
6 James Rowe
7 Leon Pattman
8 Leonard Owens- Omega Chapter
9 Alonzo Tate
Fall 1981
1 Darious Croft
2 Juan Johnson
3 Clifton Eley
Fall 1982
1 Christopher Neal
2 Terrance Kennell
3 James Ball
4 Theodore Miller Jr.
Fall 1983
1 Larry Williams
2 Jeffery Pittman
3 Harvey Freelon
Spring 1984
1 Horace Chase
2 Eddie Palmer
3 Charles Franklin
4 Marty Young
5 Forest Turner
6 Thomas Nichols
7 Doran Johnson
8 Harold Myles
Spring 1985
1 Shun Williams
2 Otis Livingston
3 Oswald Brown III
Spring 1986
1 Ronald Tyler
2 James Carter
3 Bruce Plummer
4 John Malone
5 Linnon Parker
6 Eric Mell
Spring 1987
1 Maurice Goins
2 John Shanklin Jr.
3 Jerry Conerly
4 Derrick Nutall
5 Ercolani Pauline
Spring 1988
1 Kenneth Wayne
2 Marvin Spencer
3 Jerry Kelly
4 Doug Hartsfield
5 Demetrius Pogue
