Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc. | 12,294 followers on LinkedIn. Excelling with Honor | Sigma Nu (ΣΝ) is a college fraternity that was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, shortly after Hopkins witnessed what he considered a hazing ritual by upperclassmen at the Virginia Military Institute. Sigma Nu's existence remained secret until the founders publicly announced their new society on January 1, 1869, which is the fraternity's recognized birth date. The fraternity has 279 (active and inactive) chapters and colonies throughout the United States and Canada and has initiated over 227,000 members.