TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Troy University has suspended its Pi Kappa Phi fraternity chapter following an investigation that found violations of university and national fraternity policies involving the hazing of new members.

The chapter must cease all operations immediately, and members living in the fraternity house must vacate the property by Oct. 26.

According to a statement provided by Matt Clower, Troy University’s senior director of communications, the Pi Kappa Phi Gamma Gamma chapter will not be eligible to return to campus until fall 2029.

“The chapter was found to have violated University policies and the national organization’s policies on hazing new members,” Clower said in the statement.

The university also announced that it would assist students living in the fraternity house with relocating to other campus housing as needed.

According to a police report obtained by The Tropolitan, police and emergency medical services responded to an incident at the Pi Kappa Phi house on Fraternity Circle on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 11:07 p.m. Officers found a 22-year-old white male who needed medical care.

The student was transported to Troy Regional Medical Center for treatment and was released the next day. The investigation was concluded and evidence was turned over to Student Services for disciplinary action. Details of the alleged hazing and the circumstances surrounding the incident were not immediately available.

Clower provided the following statement on behalf of the university regarding the suspension:

“The Pi Kappa Phi chapter at Troy University has been suspended, effective immediately, following an investigation into hazing. All chapter operations and activities have ceased, and the fraternity house will be closed and vacated by Oct. 26.

“The chapter was found to have violated University policies and the national organization’s policies on hazing new members.The University will assist students living in the fraternity house with relocating to other campus housing as needed.

“The chapter will not be eligible to return to campus until fall 2029.”

Herb Reeves, dean of student services at Troy University, emphasized the university’s expectations for Greek organizations in a statement included in Clower’s response.

“Troy University values Greek organizations, but we expect them to operate within the guidelines set by the University and their national organizations,” Reeves said. “The chapter’s actions were inconsistent with the standards and values of both the University and the fraternity and could have harmed those involved.”

The suspension removes one of Troy’s longest-standing fraternities from campus for the foreseeable future. The Gamma Gamma chapter was founded in 1964 with 24 men and has been recognized as the oldest social fraternity on Troy University’s campus.

The investigation also brings renewed attention to the chapter’s history of reported hazing incidents.

In a previously reported incident in 2013, a pledging member was found tied to a tree after being pelted with eggs and dirt. At the time, the university and the national fraternity suspended the chapter.

The current suspension comes as Troy University’s student handbook, The Oracle, outlines a broad definition of hazing and prohibits conduct that threatens students’ well-being or subjects them to humiliation as a condition of group membership.

According to The Oracle, hazing includes:

“Any act which endangers the emotional, mental, financial, physical health or safety of a student, with or without their expressed permission, or which destroys or removes public or private property, for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in a group or organization.”

The handbook also defines hazing as:

“Any act intended to or actually cause physical discomfort, embarrassment and/or ridicule of another person for the purposes mentioned above participation in hazing, either by facilitating or encouraging the act, or allowing oneself to be subject to acts of hazing.”

Under Alabama law, hazing is also a criminal offense. Those convicted of hazing are guilty of a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail and a fine of up to $500.

Four Pi Kappa Phi members declined to comment on the current situation when approached by The Tropolitan.

The Tropolitan has reached out to Troy University’s Pi Kappa Phi president, other fraternity members, the national Pi Kappa Phi organization and witnesses to the reported incident for comment. Responses were pending at the time of publication.

The university has not publicly provided further details about the investigation’s findings beyond the policy violations described in Clower’s statement. Details of the alleged conduct that prompted the investigation also remain unavailable at the time of publication.