Murray State established its Balanced Man Scholarship Program in summer 2000. At the time, Kentucky Epsilon had less than 20 members and gave out just two scholarships for $250. The scholarship grew quickly, as the chapter’s size and success reached new heights. Within two years, the chapter almost tripled its membership, and doubled again after just two more years. The BMS program has not only increased quantity at SigEp, but also quality. In 2004 the chapter achieved the highest grades on Murray State’s campus and has not looked back, leading the Greek community in grades eight years in a row. The chapter has also won intramurals three out of the last four years and earned its first two Buchannan Cups ever in 2009 and 2011.

The most important thing to realize is that the chapter didn’t go from zero to 60 in one year. The BMS began small, and was improved on each year until it became the chapter’s greatest asset. Even if your chapter isn’t ready to devote $10,000 to the scholarship this year, starting small and building up the program over time can produce the same type of results now seen at Murray State.

Kentucky Epsilon allocates over $17,000 to its scholarship program, and more than $5,000 of that goes towards scholarships. The rest is used for the banquet, printing, promotion and other program costs. In mid-February the vice president of recruitment selects two BMS chairmen who send out applications and determine the applicants who will get first-round interviews. Two rounds of interviews are conducted over the summer. The first formal interview is usually in the applicant’s home, and the second is a more casual outing, usually a lunch or baseball game. The chairmen are paid for their time and travel; last year the coordinators drove over 11,000 miles during the summer. To cap off the scholarship program, the chapter holds an awards banquet to honor the scholarship applicants and bestow their respective awards.

“The BMS affects every aspect of our chapter,” said AVC President Aaron Dail, Murray State ‘05, “Standards, recruitment, academics, athletics, philanthropy, as well as university and faculty engagement.”

In recent years, over 50 percent of Kentucky Epsilon’s fall recruits have come from this scholarship program. The chapter has seen a direct correlation between the success of SigEp and the success of the Balanced Man Scholarship at Murray State. The benefits of running a scholarship program and the impressive return on investment are clear. The scholarship rewards young men who exemplified a Sound Mind and Sound Body in high school and attracts those who look to embody SigEp’s cardinal principles in college.

Dail continued, “I have seen over the last 10 years this program grow from a $250 scholarship and an informal banquet, to a premier scholarship program that awards $5,000 annually, grants three hours of business elective class credit to two BMS chairmen and prepares our chapter members for experiences beyond their undergraduate days. All while recruiting future leaders into the chapter by recognizing their character and accomplishments.”

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