The Convention of 1880 is of great importance to all Phis. The Constitution adopted by this Convention made a change of great importance in the system of government. The Grand was abolished. The chapters were divided into provinces. All executive power was vested in a General Council of four members, selected by the National Convention, and in the Province Presidents, appointed by the General Council. The Fraternity had grown to be so large, and the labor of administrating its affairs so great, that some such arrangement as the province system was a necessity, in order to distribute the work among a greater number of officers.

The first Province Presidents in Phi Delta Theta were:

1. Alpha Province, A. C. McCauley (Pennsylvania Alpha, 1881) – Vermont, Pennsylvania, Maryland
2. Beta Province, Scott Bonham (Ohio Beta, 1882) – Ohio, Indiana
3. Gamma Province, Milo C. Summers (Illinois Zeta, 1882) – Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa
4. Delta Province, Lyman Chalkley (Virginia Zeta, 1881) – Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia
5. Epsilon Province, J. M. Barrs (Tennessee Alpha, 1879) – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas