A booming Bid-ness: Why the University of Alabama's Bid Day is a big deal

Bid-ness will be booming this week at the University of Alabama.

Bid Day, is UA's annual sorority fall recruitment event and will be held Sunday on campus in Tuscaloosa.

That's when the participating students will find out which sorority has accepted their membership bid. Thousands participated in the first round of open house events for the sorority recruitment period known as “rush week,” which began Aug. 6.

Rush weekends with Bid Day, where the girls meet inside Bryant-Denny Stadium and they are handed a manila envelop which they are told to sit on. Thousands of girls open their envelopes at the same time and then "run home" to their new homes. 

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Bid Day used to be known as "Squeal Day," after the squeals of delight from pledges as they learned which sorority house had accepted them.

While Bid Day has been a big deal in Tuscaloosa for years, thanks to social media the influence of Alabama sororities now reaches far beyond Tuscaloosa.

The #bamarush and #alabamarush hashtags on TikTok have millions of views during the past couple of years. 

If you've scrolled through your For You Page at any time this week, there's no doubt you've seen potential new members showing off where they got their recruitment week outfits, or members decorating sorority mansions for rush events. 

Don't forget the TikTok dances in frilly, sparkly outfits, either. 

According to the Division of Student Life website, more than 35 percent of UA’s undergraduate student body belong to Greek letter fraternities and sororities. That means that 11,000 students belong to UA's 68 Greek organizations. Since  2011, UA has had the largest overall fraternity and sorority membership in the nation.

Classes at UA are scheduled to begin on Aug. 17.