The Alpha Tau Chapter of Beta Theta Pi was established at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1888 nearly fifty years after Beta Theta Pi was founded in 1839. Among the great old fraternities, Beta Theta Pi was established on August 8, 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Early on, Beta earned a reputation as a pioneer by being the first fraternity founded west of the Allegheny Mountains and the first to locate a chapter west of the Mississippi River. Today, Beta has more than 175 chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada. Recently, Alpha Tau was part of the first group of chapters to adopt the Men of Principle initiative in 1998. Being a Beta means many things: Brotherhood, Excellence, Tradition, and Academics.