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Saginaw Valley State University

October 29, 2024

SVSU Board Approves New Housing, Adding Women’s Flag Football Team

View of apartments

The Saginaw Valley State University Board of Control approved constructing new student housing and adding a new intercollegiate sport, women’s flag football, during the Board’s regular meeting Monday, Oct. 28.

SVSU will build new apartment-style housing for 48 residential students in its University Village complex along Pierce Road.  Construction will begin in summer 2025 and be completed by summer 2026 at a projected cost of $6.3 million. SVSU will fund the project through existing capital reserves.

“Our award-winning student housing is at full capacity this year, and we had even more students who wanted to live on campus,” said Noel Hornbacher, vice president for Administration and Business Affairs. “We are able to complete this project without borrowing, and doing so allows us to provide more on-campus living options, which is what our students are seeking.”

SVSU has consistently earned the “best dorms” honor among all public universities in the United States and retains that distinction for 2025 in the annual rankings by the website Niche.

Following Board approval, SVSU will introduce women’s flag football as a varsity sport at the NCAA Division II level, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The team is expected to begin competition in the 2026-27 academic year.

“Women’s flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the country at the high school and collegiate levels,” said John Lewandowski, vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics. “We already have outstanding indoor and outdoor facilities that make this program a good fit for SVSU.”

The Board also approved a pair of property acquisitions not to exceed a $1 purchase price. SVSU will proceed with acquiring land gifted by Dow for the construction of SVSU’s Lake Huron Environmental Sciences Research Station along the Saginaw River near the mouth of Saginaw Bay in Bay County’s Bangor Township. The State of Michigan has approved $7.5 million to support construction of the facility.

In the city of Saginaw, SVSU will proceed with acquiring property on the south side of downtown, between Washington and Water Streets, for the future construction of a building to support SVSU’s academic programs in the health professions as part of a cooperative project known as the medical diamond.

In other action, the Board:

  • Received and accepted the annual financial audit and federal award audit for the 2023-24 fiscal year, as conducted by Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC.
  • Approved SVSU’s capital outlay plan for 2026-2030.
  • Approved spending up to $1.25 million to replace the air handling system in Hamilton Gym.
  • Approved spending up to $800,000 for an automated building control system.
  • Approved an amended lease agreement of up to 5 years for SVSU’s Riverfront Center at 208 S. Washington in Saginaw.
  • Approved granting an honorary degree to Mark Murray, who will serve as SVSU’s Commencement speaker in December.