Tau Beta Sigma, National Honorary Band Sorority, has been recognized as a sister organization since 1947, and the two organizations share National Headquarters in Stillwater Santa Fe Depot, a converted historical Santa Fe rail depot that was purchased by the fraternity and sorority in 1991.

Members of Kappa Kappa Psi include President Bill Clinton;[4] chancellor and eleventh president of Indiana University, Herman B Wells;[5] composers John Williams and John Philip Sousa;[6] conductor William Revelli; and jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie.

Only 14 were installed during the Great Depression, while World War II put a further damper on fraternal activities.

At Texas Tech, a local sorority for women in the band was established as Tau Beta Sigma.

The women of Tau Beta Sigma petitioned Kappa Kappa Psi to be chartered as an auxiliary chapter of the fraternity, which was supported by founder A. Frank Martin, who was serving as National Executive Secretary, and Max Mitchell, Grand Second Vice President.

On January 25, 1944, Martin wrote to fellow founder, William Scroggs, "If we do not meet this new situation and give recognition to the girls who are coming into the bands or make it possible to give aid or assistance to the many universities and colleges that have bands composed of both boys and girls, we will be playing second fiddle within the next five years to some band fraternity that will grant membership to boys and girls and their chapters will open up in the smaller schools where ours have died.

"[13] The fraternity was unable to decide whether or not to accept Tau Beta Sigma's petition due to the severely reduced number of members and the cancelation of the 1943 and 1945 national conventions.

When Rubin arrived at Rutgers on November 11, 1972, he learned that the first degree of ritual had been administered, which began formal probationary membership.

The jurisdiction committee considered several options that would bring the fraternity into compliance but was not receptive to the general idea.

At the insistence of committee chair Richard Adler, from the Nu chapter at the University of Michigan, the jurisdiction committee presented the Grand Chapter with an amendment "without prejudice"—that is, without a recommendation for or against the amendment—that would strike the section of the constitution that reads, "All members of the Fraternity shall be of the male sex.

"[22] The committee simultaneously recommended that the delegation take no action to change the constitution or consider a merger with Tau Beta Sigma.

The issue was again brought up at the 1975 national convention, and a joint committee consisting of an equal number of members from Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma was formed to explore the legal possibilities of a corporate merger of the two organizations, with the results of their investigation to be read at the 1977 convention.

[22] With the idea of a merger soundly defeated, the delegation voted to remove all references to gender from the constitution, allowing women to become active members in full and regular standing.

[36] Membership Candidates may wear a lapel pin that has a musical staff and a bass clef of silver on a background of blue enamel.

"[36] This is the only piece of regalia that Membership Candidates are allowed to wear—all other jewelry is restricted to initiated members, and even the coat of arms and letters (usually worn in the form of embroidered or ironed-on blocked letters) are restricted unless there is a clear indication that the wearer is a Membership Candidate or colony member.

[36] The Fraternity Flag was created by G. R. Schaag, a member of the Eta Sigma chapter at the University of Central Florida.

Schaag quickly drafted a motion to consider a national flag, which was presented by the chapter's delegate and passed.

In 1989, Schaag presented a design for a flag, which won the committee's recommendation over other submissions and was accepted by the national chapter.

The Fraternity Hymn was written by Brother Scott Jeffrey Heckstall Jr. when he was a prospective member of the Eta Gamma chapter in 1977.

[42] In June and July 2002, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma sponsored the first National Intercollegiate Marching Band, which traveled to the French Riviera, including the cities of Nice, Grasse, Aix-en-Provence, Cannes, Antibes, and the Principality of Monaco.

[46] The thirty-five member band performed at Le Suquet in Cannes, in Nice, and in front of the Prince's Palace of Monaco.

[47] After the inaugural trip, the program was dissolved by the joint national councils due to its high cost and low attendance, which was believed to be caused by a fear of traveling abroad after the September 11 attacks.

This program was begun to add to the wind repertoire under the direction of Grand President Hugh McMillen, and is the longest-running commissioning project in the United States.

[53][54] A number of these commissioned compositions have garnered national acclaim, including Robert Russell Bennett's Symphonic Songs for Band[55] and Karel Husa's Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra.

Stillwater Station replaced Oklahoma State University's Seretean Center for the Performing Arts as the National Headquarters of the two organizations.

[60][61] After it was purchased, the caboose was placed on newly laid tracks outside the headquarters and wired for electricity, phone, and internet.

The caboose is intended to host archives, artifacts, and chapter histories, as well as displays of historical items.

To date, more than 100 brothers have received AEA scholarships from chapters across the country, from all manner of programs of study, and recipients have gone on to become leaders in their professions and in our organization.

[74][75] You boys are the ones who will carry on the work started by the old masters, it is up to you, and your fraternity has the field almost exclusively, to promote music and make all who listen appreciate.

Each organization possesses a distinct mission and, as a result, fulfills a unique and vital role in the musical environment of a college campus.