Sigma Delta Chi was founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, as a professional journalistic fraternity for men. The Indiana University chapter was established in 1914 with the stated mission to "promote interest in journalism and encourage high ideals in newspaper work." Women were admitted to the organization beginning in 1969. In 1973, the national organization changed its name to the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, and in 1988 the name was shortened to the Society of Professional Journalists.

In the winter of 1947, the Indiana University chapter of Sigma Delta Chi launched the satirical magazine the Crimson Bull, led by editors Carlos Foster, Larry Stillerman, and Bill Dyer. According to the introduction to the first issue, the magazine was intended to be the successor of a defunct student humor magazine, also named the Crimson Bull, which was first published at Indiana University in 1920. Lawrence Wheeler, who acted as the first faculty advisor to the magazine, was also one of the co-founders of the original 1920s Crimson Bull. The editors also intended their magazine to fill the void in campus humor publications left by the ending of the Date (1946-1947), another student magazine. After the publication of the first issue in 1947, the publishers released 6 to 8 issues a year. The last known issue of the magazine was released in March 1956 under faculty advisor Chris Savage.