There have been a lot of highlights in the UNI-Dome since it first opened its doors twenty-two years ago. During these twenty-two years of events, the dome has given the students of University of Northern Iowa and the people of the state of Iowa a place to go, to have fun, and to forget their worries for a while. While many people like to come to the dome to watch the Panthers, many opponents of the UNI athletic teams fear their trip to Cedar Falls. The dome has been the home to many big events, from concerts to sporting events.

    The dome has been a very friendly place for the University of Northern Iowa football team. The first game played by the football team in the dome was on May 1st, 1976. The UNI football team played the UNI alumni football team for their annual spring game. The UNI varsity beat the old alumni at this historic first football game. The first regular season football game in the dome was a 41-7 loss to Northern Michigan over Labor Day weekend of 1976, and the first victory was against Nebraska-Omaha in the same year. Before the 1998 season the University of Northern Iowa football team had an all-time record of 111-28-1 in the UNI-Dome. Between 1989 to 1994 the University of Northern Iowa football team won twenty-nine straight regular season games in the UNI-Dome. The dome gave and still gives the Panther's football team a great home-field advantage.

    Two other important sporting events in the history of the UNI-Dome had record setting crowds. In 1990 the University of Northern Iowa played the University of Iowa in a basketball game at the UNI-Dome. 22,676 people packed into the dome to watch this interstate rival game. The crowd that night was the largest crowd ever present at the UNI-Dome and it was also the largest crowd ever to witness a basketball game in the state of Iowa. In 1997 the UNI-Dome hosted the Division I Wrestling Championship. All of the wrestling events sold out and it smashed the NCAA attendance record for the Division I Wrestling Championships. The UNI-Dome has been a tremendous asset to Northern Iowa athletics, both for the fans and the athletes.

    The dome has hosted many other events besides athletics. The dome has had many concerts, circuses, truck and tractor pulls, and sports shows. The concerts in the UNI-Dome have attracted many big names, such as Alice Cooper, the Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, Eddie Rabbitt, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and many other headline acts. These concerts created a lot of excitement around the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. Julie Bright, the athletic business manager and licensing administrator at the UNI-Dome, was asked what she thought the most memorable event at the dome was. She said, "Probably the very, very hottest event was the Rolling Stones concert, That was the one where there was the highest demand for tickets and even calls from the state legislature for tickets. It was pretty phenomenal."¹⁰¹ The concerts and other events that have taken place in the UNI-Dome throughout the years have brought a lot of good times and great memories to all the people who have attended the events.