Early Aug. 9, many UA students were attempting to squeeze in the last few days of sleep before classes start. Meanwhile, 1,610 women lined up at 15 doors on sorority row, taking part in the largest formal recruitment in UA and U.S. history.

Gentry McCreary, director of Greek Affairs, said the University continues to progress as being one of the top schools for recruitment.

“For the past several years we have been among the top three universities with the largest group of women going through formal recruitment,” McCreary said. “This year’s reports have us in the number one slot followed by Indiana University.”

Rush is an age-old tradition at the University, which takes place every year the week before classes start.

According to Sarah Suggs, President of the Alabama Panhellenic Association, the week is divided into four rounds—open house, philanthropy day, skit day and preference night.

“Each day allows for the potential new members undergoing recruitment to learn about the different sororities and figure out where they feel they would fit in best. It’s a very involved yet rewarding process,” Suggs said.

Although McCreary said he is excited by the number of women involved in rush this year, he is more excited by the number who received bids Sunday.

“One thousand three hundred and thirty-six women received bids to join a sorority this year,” McCreary said. “It’s one thing to have a large number of girls go through the process of rush but it’s another to have such a high retention percentage such as ours.”

According to McCreary, the UA Panhellenic Council’s focus is always on retention.

“We really want as many women to be able to be involved as possible. This year our retention was at 89 percent,” McCreary said. “That’s really an amazing percentage for a university our size.”

Suggs echoed McCreary’s sentiment.

“Typically that [retention] rate is around 70 percent,” Suggs said. “Eighty-nine is unheard of. It’s a true testimony to our sorority’s chapters.”

Over the past three years, Alabama’s recruitment retention has progressively grown. In 2008 and 2009 the retention percentages were 74 and 83 percent, respectively.

McCreary said he believes the increases in these rates can be attributed to the addition of Alpha Phi and the council’s work in helping potential new members keep an open mind and maximize their options.

“The University itself has grown and therefore we’ve expected the amount of students involved in Greek Life to grow as well,” McCreary said.

According to McCreary, the University’s student involvement in greek life has doubled from 3,000 students to 6,000 just since President Robert Witt joined the University in 2003.

McCreary said he believes students are no longer looking for a standard student experience and are beginning to look outside of the classroom for growth and opportunities.

“It’s really exciting and we’re continuing to grow. In fact, we’re in the process of adding another sorority next year—Delta Gamma,” McCreary said. “I am thrilled with this year’s success and can’t wait to see what next year will hold.”