University of Alabama students return to Tuscaloosa: What to know

The University of Alabama will begin fall classes in August, which means nearly 40,000 students will arrive soon in Tuscaloosa.

Here's a guide to the 2024 fall semester at the Capstone:

When do UA students move in?

Students will arrive during two waves: Early move-in will begin Aug. 7 and regular move-in will begin the weekend of Aug. 18.

The early move-in period, Aug. 7-14, is for students who are participating in sorority and fraternity recruitment activities, members of the Million Dollar Band, Honors College freshmen and students participating in other special programs. Those other special programs include biology boot camp, forensics and Camp 1831, a three-day session to acquaint new students with the UA campus.

The rest of the students will move in over a series of days, from Aug. 16-18.

When do classes start at UA?

Classes begin Aug. 21, a Wednesday at UA. Tuscaloosa residents will want to mark that date: Leave a little early for work, especially if your morning commute takes you anywhere near the UA campus.

Here is UA's holiday schedule: Sept. 2 for Labor Day, Oct. 31-Nov. 1 for the mid-semester break and Nov. 25-29 for Thanksgiving. No classes will be held on these days.

The last day of classes for the fall semester is Dec. 6 and finals will be held Dec. 9-13.

What about football?

UA kicks off the 2024 season at 6 p.m. Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The annual homecoming game is scheduled for Oct. 26 against Missouri.

Other home games include Sept. 7 against South Florida, Sept. 28 against Georgia, Oct. 12 against South Carolina, Nov. 16 against Mercer and Nov. 30 against Auburn.

This season marks the debut of new Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer.

When is Bid Day?

UA's sorority recruitment week went viral with videos on TikTok in 2021, followed by a documentary, "Bama Rush," which premiered in 2023 on Max.

Activities for sorority recruitment week begin on Aug. 10 with a convocation and open house and culminate Aug. 18 with Bid Day.

Bid Day is when the students meet inside Bryant-Denny Stadium and they are handed a manila envelope. Thousands of students open their envelopes at the same time and then run to their new homes. Bid Day used to be known as "Squeal Day," after the squeals of delight from pledges as they learned which sorority house had accepted them.

When is graduation?

Summer commencement will begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 3 at Coleman Coliseum.

Fall commencement is scheduled for Dec. 14, with ceremonies scheduled at 8:30 a.m. and noon at the coliseum.

For more information, go to UA's commencement website.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: When University of Alabama students will move in, start classes