Phil Robins and Lonnie Lester Brown were track stars from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  They competed in the NCAA Track and Field Championships in June of 1974.  While competing, Robins and Brown met a competitor and Brother from the University of Maryland-College Park named John Davenport (11-N-74).  They were intrigued with Davenport and his membership in Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated.  This interaction would eventually launch the charter line (I.S. Fire) that crossed on December of 1974 at Upsilon Chapter (Southern Illinois University at Carbondale).  Brothers Robins and Brown were on this charter line that also clinched the berth of the “Mighty” Midwest Region.

In 1996, the National Board and a young Brother named Karl Price reconfigured the Midwest Region which led to the formation of the Ohio Valley Region (OVR).  Since the reconfiguration, the Midwest Region has grown to eight states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.  In the beginning, the Brothers who led the Midwest Region were called the regional “directors”.
Today, each leader of the regions in Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated is called the Regional Polaris.  We have had eleven Regional Polari in the Midwest Region:

• Dennis Bias
• Steven T. Birdine 
• Jeff Anderson
• Bruce E. Thomas 
• Toby Miller
• Karl Price, Esq. 
• Ralph “Mikki” Robinson 
• Ptah E. Smith
• Ronald L. Lee
• Charles L. Williams, Jr. 
• Richard McClelland, Jr. 
• Kenneth L. White
• Oak Ekunno
• Keenan Saulter, ESQ
• Neal Reeves (Present)