In Eta Sigma History there is always a bit of controversy when it comes to families. Some families have formed naturally over time such as the Snake Family or the Panther Family. Others start because of transfer students like the Black Sheep Family or the Duck Family. And still others form due to rivalries, falling outs, and in some cases, plain silliness.
While the Panther family tree has never spun-off any sub-families, many of the families we have today are spun-off from the Snake family. These families are:
OHCYSP (pronounced PSYCHO)
Psychobunny
Psidog
Ninja
Jedi (aka Bear)
Phoenix

There have been other families that have been present throughout Eta Sigma's history. These families, much like many others, were sub-families or off-shoots of others. Some like the Black Sheep Family, and the Duck family, which are both extinct, were started by transfers from other chapters. Other familes include:
Hawk Family (originally the 3 Amoebas)
Dragon Family
F7-Kenneth Hetrick
F10- Bradley Sears

Even though we had 10 founding brothers, not everyone took a little or created a family. Below are the stories on how each family was created:

Panthers(F2)-Jeff Chisholm
This line was started by Founding Brother Jeff Chisholm. The Panther Family Line begins with Mitch Schoen because he was the person who came up with the idea of the family. Jeff and the lines of his other Little Brothers are considered Pre-Panthers. This family has special meaning to the fraternity as Nathan Philips, a brother who died during his membership process, who is a member of this family was awarded Brother Status after he passed away. The Panther Family also earns a place in history as the first African American Brothers in this chapter belonged to this family. In more recent years the Panther line has earned many nicknames due to it usually having only one or two members active at any given time.

Snakes(F3)- Bryan Cole

Founded by Founding Brother Bryan Cole. One of two lines to continue into the present and by far the largest. The story of the Snake family is actually an interesting one as Bryan had a way with the ladies and the Snake was an innuendo for his prowess. There are mutiple families that branch off of Snakes. Members of the first line are the PSYCHO Snakes, which are all descended from David "PSYCHO" Welch. This line includes the subfamilies of PSYCHO, Psychobunny, and Psidog. Members of the second line are "Pure" Snakes, pure meaning none of the lines having branched off, still able to trace their line back to the first Snake. A third line are the Snake, Ninja line. Traditionally the family Jersey is gray with white lettering. Numbers are chosen by the individual brother rather than assigned.

OHCYSP (pronounced PSYCHO)
An Off-shoot family started by David Welch. The Story behind how this family received its name is quite interesting. The night before the band left for their first big band trip to Eastern Kentucky a Band party was thrown. at the party, David Welch, unbeknownst to him, was given some "Magic Brownies". Once the effects kicked in he wondered off into the "Forest of Peril" where that Visual Arts building stands today. He is said to have been found the next morning by his friends, banging his head against a stop sign, not having a clue as to where he was or what he was doing. Later that day while traveling, still under the effects of the Brownies, David was found lying face down in the aisle way of the bus, having completely passed out.
The word Psycho, for all fraternal purposes, is spelled in reverse (backward with backwards letters) and in all caps. The numbering for the PSYCHOs, Psychobunnies, and the Psidogs are the same. The lowest number is assigned to the MC with the oldest initiated Big Brother and so on.

Psychobunny
Another Off-shoot family started by Marc Della Costa. Marc was a percussionist who was know to be a little on the crazy side. The name came about because 1) they were an offshoot of the PSYCHO family and 2) it was just because Marc thought rabbits were funny. Also, Marc wore pink shorts while practicing and even did an impression of the energizer bunny by staying on the field a bit after the band had marched off just drumming away. Hence Psychobunny. It was later on stated that members of this family were “creatively crazy” to coin a phrase. "You usually had the more outgoing and, yes, arrogant people be psychobunnies" according to John Dogaer. "You had to be confident enough to walk around with hot pink letters on your jersey."
There are several traditions that are still exist today. On the Official jersey, a backwards pink "P" with bunny ears is worn on the right sleeve. The family Jersey is white with pink lettering. Group pictures with members of the Psychobunny family are still taken with its members standing on their heads. The numbering system is also a tradition. Each Psychobunny has two number separated by a point or period. The first number is the Psycho number ( an acknowledgement of the PSYCHO heritage) and the second number is the Psychobunny number. The numbering for the PSYCHOs, Psychobunnies, and the Psidogs are the same. The lowest number is assigned to the MC with the oldest initiated Big Brother and so on. "Creatively Crazy" still describes the members of this family.

Psidog
Yet another off-shoot family started by Jermichael Duffy. The numbering system for the Psidogs is exactly the same as the Psychobunnies as they extend from the same line. The lowest number is assigned to the MC with the oldest initiated Big Brother and so on. Family pictures are taken with arms crossed and serious looks. Currently, there are no active members of the Psidogs.

Other Families:
F7-Kenneth Hetrick
This line was started by Founding member Kenneth Hetrick. He took David Pritchett as his little in the summer of 1982. David graduated without having taken a little brother, which makes David the last member of this line. The line was not around long enough to be given a name.

Dragons(F9)- Frank Reindl
This line was started by Founding Brother Frank Reindl. It is rumored that the Dragon family name was added by Frank's second little brother, Harry Miller, who had a fascination with Dragons. This is why, on the family tree, Harry is considered the First Dragon while Frank and his other Little Brothers are considered Pre-Dragons. Not Much else is known about this family or its traditions.

Hawk Family (originally the 3 Amoebas)
One such family that has long since faded away is the Hawk Family. What makes this family so special is the myth surrounding it. Since the last member initiated was in 1993, many current brothers only know of this family by the stories told to us by older brothers. In many cases the story changes depending on who is telling it. But one thing remains the same. The Hawk Family began with the 3 Amoebas.
Rumor has it that Chuck McGee, originally a member of the Dragon Family, did not have the best relationship with his big brother, Kevin Murphy. So he decided to start his own family as a way of formally disowning his big brother. (It is also rumored that this “split” was just a gag since that would fit with Chuck McGee’s personality) Being the eccentric person he is, he picked the Amoeba. Also, he chose the name the “Three Amoebas” because the movie “The Three Amigos” had recently come out. He had two twin little brothers in the fall of 1988 (Dale Harrison & Jay Lauer), hence the name The Three Amoebas. They used to walk around doing that silly three amigos salute from the movie. This Information leads the assumption that Chuck already had both little brothers and that they already had history together before he decided to split from the Dragons. So this puts the creation of the family approximately between F88 and S89.
Later, when both Jay and Dale were eligible to be big brothers, a decision was made that there could only be Three Amoebas (three amigos). To continue the Amoeba line would be a disservice to the running joke. Since their big brother had split from the Dragons they decided not to rejoin the family. Jay & Dale decided to continue the family with an animal name to stick with the tradition of the chapter, so they started the Hawk family. Rumor has it that it was Jay who was the one that made the decision to create the Hawk family (or at least came up with the name), which is why he is given the number 1 as his Hawk number.
The Amoeba/Hawk line continued until 1993 (last known initiate) with Ram Parikh as the last of the line giving the family a span of 5 years. Members are Chuck McGee, Dale Harrison, Jay Lauer, Rich Baker, Dan Johnson, Gerald Robinson, Carlis Eiland, Larry Sanders, Adam Steff, Emmial Fields, and Ram Parikh.
Once again the creation of the family depicted here is pieced together from rumors, hearsay, and recollection. There are few facts to go on. I would like to thank brothers Brian Paster, Brad Hudson, Sterling Cain, Charley Cartee, and Josh Scruggs for their helping in piecing together the history of this Family.

F10- Bradley Sears
Not much is known about this line. It was started by Founding Brother Bradley Sears. There were 5 members of this family. The last know member initiated was Fred Chambers in the Fall of 1984. There may have been a name for this line, possibly the Eagle Family, but the line did not last very long and not much is remembered about it.