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Ferris State University opened a residence hall this week that puts freshmen closer to the action than most college students will ever get to a football field. Stadium Hall, built directly into Top Taggart Field just beyond the north end zone, opened Friday and now houses 282 first-year students in rooms and common lounges that overlook the Bulldogs' home turf.
The $38 million building was unveiled in Big Rapids, Michigan, according to ClickOnDetroit, which reported that university leaders describe the project as the first of its kind in Michigan. That distinction lines up with what university leaders told WZZM-TV during groundbreaking: Stadium Hall is believed to be the first residence hall attached to a major multipurpose stadium among any of Michigan's 15 public universities, though private Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids had already built student housing attached to its baseball stadium.
The 86,000-square-foot, four-story building was designed by architectural and engineering firm Integrated Design Solutions, with Granger Construction managing the build, per the firm's own project details. IDS has designed other prominent college athletic facilities in the state, including Michigan State University's Tom Izzo Football Building.
A Dorm Built for Game Day
Stadium Hall provides rooms and common lounges overlooking the stadium, and the design leans into that proximity rather than treating it as an afterthought. According to IDS, the ground floor includes a lounge that opens directly onto an end-zone patio for student tailgating during home games, while upper-floor lounges were centered on the end zone specifically to maximize game-day viewing.
The building also sets aside six first-floor hotel rooms for visiting guests, in a section nicknamed the Dawg House, IDS notes. ClickOnDetroit reports the hall is expected to give students a front-row experience for Bulldogs football games, adding meaningful housing capacity to a campus that has not opened a brand-new residence hall since North Hall debuted in 2017, according to The Ferris State Torch. North Hall was a $25 million, 125,000-square-foot facility built for freshmen.
Financing and Football Timing
Ferris State financed Stadium Hall's $38 million construction cost primarily through university bonds, the Torch reported, with the Board of Trustees approving the bonding strategy as part of a broader push to upgrade campus living space. The timing lines up neatly with the football program's recent success: the Bulldogs won their fourth NCAA Division II national championship in five years in December, per Ferris State Bulldogs Athletics. Head coach Tony Annese led the team to an undefeated 16-0 season, setting an all-time NCAA Division I/II scoring record with 844 points along the way.
Top Taggart Field, where the new dorm now sits, has hosted Ferris State football since 1957 and seats 6,200 fans. The stadium was dedicated in 1978 in honor of W.C. “Top” Taggart, who became the university's first varsity football coach in 1912, according to Ferris State Bulldogs Athletics.
Housing Rules and What Comes Next
Most of the 282 students moving in are bound there by university policy: Ferris State requires single first-year students to live in campus residence halls for two full academic semesters, with exceptions for those who turn 19 before September 1 or who live with parents within 50 road miles of campus, per the university's Office of Housing and Residence Life.
Stadium Hall is only phase one of a larger plan for the stadium. The Torch reports the project anchors a multi-phase master plan for Top Taggart Field that includes a proposed $61.7 million Indoor Activities Complex, a 134,000-square-foot facility planned for the stadium's south end zone. As of June, donor contributions toward that complex had already surpassed $1 million.
Ferris State has also highlighted the number of its own graduates who helped design and build Stadium Hall, ClickOnDetroit noted. Among them are Granger Construction project manager Taylor Goldthwait and campus facilities project manager Kara Pellerito, both Ferris State alumni, according to the university.
Hoodline covered the groundbreaking in March 2025, when construction first got underway. What remains unresolved, even as students settle in, is exactly how the university plans to manage game-day logistics, noise and stadium lighting for residents living this close to the field during home games and other year-round events at Top Taggart Field.
