In the autumn of 1962, two Faber College freshmen, Larry Kroger and Kent Dorfman, are eager to join a fraternity. After finding the prestigious Omega Theta Pi house off-limits at a raucous party, they set their sights on the derelict Delta Tau Chi next door. Kent hopes Delta will welcome him as a legacy since his older brother was a member, while Larry is drawn into a world of rowdy camaraderie. The Delta house introduces them to a colorful lineup of brothers—Bluto Blutarsky, Hoov Hoover, Otter Stratton, D-Day Day, Boon Schoenstein, and Boon’s frustrated girlfriend Katy. The newcomers are folded into the fraternity as pledges, earning the nicknames Pinto and Flounder, while an Omega pledge named Chip Diller endures a disciplinary paddling of his own.
The Delta house, already on probation for continual mischief and poor grades, becomes the target of Dean Vernon Wormer, who places Delta on “double secret probation” and pressures Omega leader Greg Marmalard to find a pretext to revoke Delta’s charter. The animosity among Delta, Omega, and Wormer intensifies through a string of pranks and skirmishes, including the infamous death of Neidermeyer’s horse during a retaliation against the bullying of a ROTC member, Flounder. Amid these tensions, Otter carries on an affair with Marmalard’s girlfriend Mandy Pepperidge, a member of the sorority Alpha Delta Pi, complicating alliances and escalating stakes.
A turning point arrives when Bluto and D-Day swipe the upcoming midterm answers from the trash, only to learn that Omegas have swapped them with a fake. The Deltas fail the exam, dropping their GPAs so low that Wormer signals that one more misstep could finally revoke their charter. Undeterred, the Deltas throw a toga party and hatch further mischief, with Pinto bringing Clorette, a young woman he invites to the party, and Otter flirting with an older woman who turns out to be Dean Wormer’s wife, Marion. The night spirals as Otter seduces Marion, while Pinto helps Clorette home after she passes out; he later discovers that she is the 13-year-old daughter of the corrupt mayor, Carmine DePasto.
A kangaroo court led by the Omegas revokes the Deltas’ charter and confiscates their house. In the aftermath, Otter, Boon, Pinto, and Flounder steal away in a borrowed Lincoln and embark on a road trip that leads them to a club where Otis Day and the Knights perform. Their attempt to date the club’s patrons backfires when they realize the crowd is predominantly African-American, forcing the Deltas and their dates to flee amid vandalized cars and tense clashes.
The morning after, Boon learns that Katy spent the night with English professor Dave Jennings. Babs Jansen, secretly in love with Marmalard, informs him that Mandy and Otter have been involved, and Marmalard’s plan to punish the Deltas intensifies as Wormer announces their expulsion and notifies local draft boards that they are all eligible for service.
Refusing to fold, Bluto rallies the fraternity for one last stand during Homecoming. D-Day converts a badly damaged Lincoln into an armored vehicle inside a cake-shaped parade float, and the Deltas use it to unleash chaos on the maintenance of the parade. The wrecking spree disrupts the reviewing stand, toppling Wormer and DePasto, while Hoover pleads for another chance. The film closes with an epilogue that reveals the fates of the key characters, underscoring the ongoing clash between youthful rebellion and institutional authority.
David Attenborough Self makes a cameo as himself, adding a light, meta touch to the chaos and spectacle that defines Delta Tau Chi’s tumultuous year.
