UNA is on track for several major milestones within the next year.
The Shine On, Gold campaign is the university’s largest fundraising initiative to date, with a goal set at $100 million, the campaign was announced in October of 2023 with six priorities, including the multi-purpose Bank Independent Stadium, a planned Music Performance Center, student scholarships and other donor-directed purposes.
The original campaign announcement also included the now closed Mitchell-West Center for Social Inclusion in its list of priorities.
Bank Independent Stadium, as one of the original priorities of the campaign, is on track for completion next year. The stadium is planned to be ready for use for UNA’s first home football game of the 2026-27 season, according to university spokesperson Michelle Eubanks.
The construction of the stadium reached a major milestone in August, as crews topped out the stadium by placing its final beam.
“Our student-athletes, coaches and staff are eager to use this great facility to enjoy football, soccer and baseball games,” said UNA Athletic Director Josh Looney. “Bank Independent Stadium is an asset for the Shoals region, and today’s ceremony is one more step toward seeing the long-held dream of an on-campus stadium come to fruition.”
The stadium is not the only major construction project taking place on-campus.
Construction crews are also at work on the 54,000-square-foot LaGrange residence hall, near the Student Recreation Center on the north side of campus.
The residence hall is being built perpendicular to the footprint of the original LaGrange Hall, to provide a clearer line of sight from the on-campus housing communities to the rest of campus.
“It will serve as sort of that gateway to the residential areas of campus for students and visitors,” said Eubanks.
LaGrange is also slated to open in the next academic year, becoming home to an expected 190 students.
Along with the new residence hall to accommodate a growing student population, the UNA Board of Trustees has recently approved the construction of a new parking lot near to Flowers Hall and the Mitchell Burford Science and Technology building, expected to have room for 187 vehicles.
“All of that is, of course, driven by a lot of the things we hear from the students telling us, ‘We need a little bit more,’” Eubanks said.
