In 1969, University of Northern Iowa President J.W. Maucker wrote a letter to Dr. Marshall Beard talking about his dream of a multi-purposed, covered coliseum at the university. President Maucker said, "The point would be to have an all-weather arena or coliseum or whatever we wish to call it in which there could be held various kinds of special events including a wide variety of sports now carried on in the stadium, track, field events and football. Such a structure would be new, startling, and bold."' When President Maucker proposed this idea, many people thought he was crazy. Little did President Maucker and the people of Iowa know that the UNI -Dome would cause controversy but would also cause joy and excitement in the Cedar Valley area. This paper will focus on the main events that led to the building of this wonderful structure and the controversy it created. Today, the UNI-Dome is the most popular building on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.