Mystical Seven Made Public: May 24, 1907 at the University of Missouri University of Missouri The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses... Founder: Harold Spencer Williams Membership: 7 seniors Alumni: 700+ Purpose: known only to members Official Colors: Black & Gold

Mystical Seven is one of the secret societies of the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

. Mystical Seven taps seven outstanding seniors for membership based on their good deeds and selfless leadership and service to the campus and community. Mystical Seven is the second oldest of the secret honor societies still in existence at the university. A rivalry continues to exist between Mystical Seven and QEBH. Other secret societies on campus include LSV, Rollins Society, ODK, and Mortar Board

Mortar Board

Mortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918...

.

Origins

The origins of the society were made plain by its founder, Harold Spencer Williams. "I conceived the idea of a new and different Senior Society, [and] picked out six outstanding members of the Junior Class in 1907. I asked each one to come by the President's office for a chat. Each one was enthusiastic. We met and organized and would announce the society in the Spring of 1907. This was done." Williams was also a member of Delta Tau Delta

Delta Tau Delta

Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...

 and Phi Mu Alpha.

There is no relationship with the society of the same name at Wesleyan University

Mystical Seven (Wesleyan)

The Mystical Seven is a society founded in 1837 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut that currently is in existence as two separate groups. Publicly, members are called Mystics.-Early history:...

, and although a relationship is often suggested between Missouri's Mystical Seven and a similar secret honor society at the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 known as the Seven Society

Seven Society

The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the...

, no direct evidence has ever been shown that any type of relationship exists between the two societies.

Although the society was historically all-male, it actually initiated its first female member in 1920. Mary Chorn Hazard was admitted due to her exception record of students activities and stout sponsorship by J. Craig Ruby, who was also a member of M7 as well as Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...

.

Tiger–Sooner Exchange

In 1929, Mizzou athletic director Chester M. Brewer, along with the Mystical Seven, began the tradition of smoking the Tiger–Sooner Peace Pipe at halftime of the annual Missouri

Missouri Tigers

The Missouri Tigers athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of the University of Missouri, located in Columbia, Missouri, United States...

–Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners

The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...

 football game. The peace pipe became a traveling trophy in 1940, when a pipe was donated by John S. Knight, the former president of the MU’s Men’s Alumni Association. The pipe had belonged to Chief White Eagle of the Pawnee tribe, and it was believed to be at least 100 years old at the time it was donated. The tradition of the peace pipe as a traveling trophy was entrusted to MU's Mystical Seven and OU's Pe-et, who would share the peace pipe in the end zone at halftime to celebrate the two universities. The society of the winning university would return the peace pipe to its university until the next meeting of the two teams.

The exchange was stopped in the late-70s, but it has recently been revived. Due to changes in the Big-12 alignment, Missouri and Oklahoma no longer play each other every year in football, but they do in basketball. The exchange now occurs during halftime of the basketball game. The pipe was replaced by a more unifying symbol of the two universities: a piece of slate from MU’s Memorial Union, as both Missouri and Oklahoma have a Memorial Union.

Notable members

• Chuck Banta, Jr., Chairman, CEO and President of Banta Foods.
• Matt Bartle
  Matt Bartle
  Matt Bartle is a Republican politician from Missouri. He was born in Columbia, Missouri.He graduated from David H. Hickman High School, and went on to get a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Missouri, and a J.D. degree from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern,...
  
  , Missouri State Senator (R)
• Byron Calame
  Byron Calame
  Byron Calame was the second public editor of the New York Times. He succeeded Daniel Okrent in this ombudsman-like position in 2005, and was followed by Clark Hoyt...
  
  , Second public editor of the New York Times
• Walter McCormick
  Walter McCormick
  Walter Bernard McCormick, Jr. , is a trade association executive, lawyer, and former government official....
  
  , President & CEO, United States Telecom Association
  United States Telecom Association
  The United States Telecom Association , founded in 1897, is the trade association for broadband service providers and their suppliers. The Association represents the broadband industry before the United States Congress, the United States federal courts, and the White House.-External links:* * *...
  
  
• Brock Olivo
  Brock Olivo
  James Brockman Olivo is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played for the Detroit Lions .-High school career:Raised in Hermann, Missouri, Brock Olivo attended St...
  
  , MU Football alum (jersey #27 retired), left Mizzou as all-time leading rusher and held record for most rushing touchdowns. The former NFL player (Detroit Lions, 5 seasons) ran for U.S. Congress in 2008.
• William S. Thompson, Jr., CEO and Managing Director of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO)
• Roger Wehrli
  Roger Wehrli
  Roger Wehrli is a former National Football League cornerback who played his entire 14-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969 until 1982. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler after playing college football at the University of Missouri, where he was a consensus All-American and a first-round...
  
  , Hall of Fame NFL cornerback