Residence hall students who won’t be able to make the road trip to Alabama or trek to the Convocation Center to watch this weekend’s football game have another option.

Channel 22 in the residence halls will broadcast the NIU vs. Alabama game live, said David Dunlap, coordinator of marketing and public relations for the Student Housing and Dining Services.

It will cost $500 for Student Housing and Dining to acquire the game from Crimson Tide Sports Marketing.

In addition to the 6 p.m. game being available in the residence hall rooms, RHA also will sponsor two large- screen viewings at Stevenson Towers’ New Orleans Room and at the Northern Lights Grill at Grant Towers.

The announcement comes just one day after the arena said it would air the game, but RHA officials say they are not trying to compete with the arena.

“We believe there would be a large demand,” RHA president Keith Kruchten said.

He said the reason for the broadcast was because of the limited number of seats at the arena.

“Only 2,000 students would be able to go to the Convocation Center. What would the other 6,000 students be able to do?” Kruchten said. “This was our best option.”