Weights and treadmills can be found at most gyms, but University Recreation goes beyond the basics to deliver every possible fitness experience for students and the community.
Director of Recreation Services Kristen Hargreaves said University Recreation has transformed students’ lives.
“We’re the place where thousands of students choose to walk through our doors each day and leave feeling happier. We’re where students learn what it means to be part of a team and compete together,” she said.
“We’re where they discover how to manage their newfound stress. We’re where they pick up new skills that will last a lifetime.”
Membership
All enrolled, on-campus and distance education students registered for one credit hour or more have membership privileges for all UREC facilities.
Members of the community can purchase monthly UREC memberships with a special rate for UA faculty, staff, dependents, first-year graduates and UA retirees.
“We love that we have a wide demographic to model a lifetime of healthy living,” Hargreaves said.
Memberships for the outdoor aquatic center are purchased separately.
Facilities & Amenities
Within University Recreation, members have access to workout classes, a sauna, a steam room, bike rentals, guided outdoor group trips, a climbing wall, and more than 30 sports club teams. No other gym in the county matches the range of amenities. UREC has something for everyone, no matter where they are on their fitness journey.
UERC has three facilities: the Student Recreation Center, the Witt Center, and the Aquatic Center. The largest and most visited is the Student Recreation Center.
Student Recreation Center Features:
- Weight room
- Steam rooms and saunas (located in locker rooms)
- Twelve pickleball and tennis courts
- Outdoor pool and waterslide
- Indoor pool
- Group exercise classes
- Combative arts room
- Nine basketball courts
- Nationally certified personal trainers
Coming Soon to UREC
The Student Recreation Center is getting 1,400 square feet of new squat racks and other strength training equipment to accommodate UA’s growing student population.
Parking & Live Facility Counts
Cars with UA parking decals, excluding the perimeter parking decal, can conveniently park at the Student Recreation Center. Pay-to-park options are available as well. This is the cheapest pay-to-park of anywhere on campus.
UREC provides real-time headcounts of patrons at each facility on its hours of operations web page, so you can see how crowded it is before you go.
Need Equipment?
UREC sells tennis balls, rackets and racket wraps, pickleball paddles and balls, racquetball racquets and balls, yoga mats and straps, and swim caps.
Outdoor Recreation
The Outdoor Recreation program offers many opportunities to build fitness and appreciation for the outdoors. Choose an adventure with one of many guided group trips to destinations like this Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama or the Ocoee River in Tennessee. Those wanting to explore on their own can rent camping gear or kayaks and canoes. A full-service bike shop can help with maintenance and repairs, and bikes can be rented for a few days or an entire semester through the bike rental program.
Intramural Sports & Sport Clubs
University Recreation organizes on-campus leagues through intramural sports, giving students, faculty and staff the opportunity to join a community, compete and have fun. Students, faculty and staff can register for each sport or get a player pass that lets them play in up to two leagues per sport, per semester for only $20.
Additionally, more than 30 student-run sports club teams from baseball and soccer to ballroom dancing and esports are available and compete in leagues against other institutions.
Group Exercise
Group exercise classes including DAZE cardio dance, Rhythm Ride cycling in the colored LED-lit studio, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, deep water aerobics and more are included with UREC membership. Pilates reformer classes are $20 per class.
Georgia Walton, a senior kinesiology major with a concentration in exercise science, teaches a cycling class. She also likes to mix up the routine to make each class different.
“To make classes fun for students, I always try to mix up my playlists to give a fun, high-energy vibe with some variety,” she said. “I also love to include a fun challenge in my lesson plan… to introduce participants to a new muscle they probably don’t think about often.”
Did you know?
Your membership to UREC includes much more than just the Student Recreation Center. You can swim laps year-round at a pool with a heated deck at the Aquatic Center or run on the treadmill overlooking the Black Warrior River while at the Witt Center.
Need a Job? Work at University Recreation
UREC is one of the largest student employers on campus. Positions include:
- Facility Operations Associate
- Graphic Design Associate
- Outdoor Recreation Associate
- Marketing Associate
- Photography Associate
- Group Exercise – Supervisor
- Lifeguard
- Group Exercise Instructor
- Intramural Sports Official
- Personal Trainer
UREC employees receive benefits, such as reduced or free training programs for personal training preparation and group fitness instruction.
Student employee Callie Childress said, “UREC has a community of staff that genuinely care about the well-being of the students and show they care about what’s happening in their lives.”
Through teaching classes, Walton said she feels like she has grown as a leader. Teaching workouts has helped grow her confidence.
“My experience teaching at UREC has been wonderful! Over the past three years I’ve been able to interact with so many students on campus and become part of the wonderful community at UREC,” she said.
Hargreaves said University Recreation is a place where they treat employees like family.
“We are the premier place to work on campus. It is just an absolute culture of community. In our values, it is students first and we live that. Our student employees run the place, and we are so proud of them.”
Childress said, “I am happy that when I graduate from the Capstone, I can say I am taking positive work values I have learned in my time at the Rec, while also saying I have created genuine friendships and connections that will take me far throughout the next chapter of my life.”
Hargreaves has worked at UREC for around thirty years — ever since she was a freshman at UA!
“I’m fortunate to work in a place where people choose to walk through our doors and leave happier,” she said. “We have the privilege of contributing to their health and well-being and we get to have fun while doing it.”