Joshua Jynes, a football coach for the University of Colorado Buffaloes and a former center from 2018-21, helped bring back a historic Black fraternity on campus. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. became the first historically Black fraternity to return and officially register at CU Boulder in November 2022.
Jynes shared his surprise when he found out Black fraternities were nonexistent when he arrived on campus.
“I didn’t look into it because I assumed every college had, you know, fraternities. So, Black fraternities and sororities,” Jynes told CBS News. “When I got on campus, I was looking for it, and they was like, they didn’t have it.”
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was founded in 1911 at Howard University and was prominent on CU Boulder’s campus in the 1990s. It is part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, often called the Divine Nine. The fraternity is the first to be a Recognized Social Greek Organization at CU Boulder, meaning it can recruit on campus, access campus resources for programs, events and training, and partner with other Greek life and campus groups, according to the university.
Joshua Jynes (’21 ΧΦ) former Buffaloes center, is making an impact off the field! He played a vital role in bringing back the historic Omega Psi Phi Fraternity to CU Boulder after 30 years. #OmegaPsiPhi #GoBuffs🔥 https://t.co/xnzDNq1zAY
— Omega Psi Phi® Fraternity (@OfficialOPPF) July 24, 2023
Omega Psi Phi runs in Jynes’ family history, as his father and uncle were both members. He turned to his family for help in re-establishing the fraternity on campus. CBS News reported that his uncle called his fraternity brother De’Ron Jasper, who currently works as the assistant athletic director and in assistant services and operations at CU Boulder.
“He was like ‘oh, I wanted to be an Omega,’ but he didn’t know at the time that Omegas were even around,” Jasper told CBS News. “And I had the opportunity to already kind of gauge him and I was like I can see him fitting in. How he could help.”
After obtaining provisional status on campus for Omega Psi Phi, the gentlemen completed the process toward full recognition in 2022.
“I think it’s important to just to have that representation so that they can say, ‘hey, I have the opportunity. I see it’s there, and if I want to strive to be in that, then I have the opportunity to do that,'” Jasper added.
On his end, Jynes hopes to see more men be able to build community on campus.
“Always having a brother to lean on. Always having someone to call when things get tough. I can always do that, and that’s something that I think is the foundation of the fraternity, and I think it’s something that we really rely on. I really enjoy that,” Jynes said.
Four other Divine Nine chapters are currently recognized at CU Boulder with provisional status, including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
