The University Board set a goal last year to bring bigger bands to campus, and this October they will take the first step toward accomplishing that goal.

On Oct. 26, Everclear will hit the stage at Lantz Arena to set off what Caleb Judy, director of the University Board, said will be the first of hopefully many big-name bands to come to campus.

Donna Fernandez, concert coordinator, said the approval of the $5 student concert fee in April helped pave the way for the University Board to bring Everclear to campus.

The concert fee gave the concert committee the opportunity to take more risks when deciding what bands they wanted to play.

In the past, the concert committee would organize shows hoping ticket sales would cover the cost of the event. However, ticket sales rarely covered the cost and the board was often left in debt.

“Now we don’t have to worry about that and we can be more risky and we can give tickets prices a lot lower price,” Fernandez said.

With the concert fee, the University Board was able to bring Everclear for over $27,000, but Judy said the actual cost of the concert will be more as other fees add up.

Judy said the concert fee fund will probably be used to help pay for the fall semester entertainment.

“We want to use up the fee, but we also want to get enough where we can put on a good three or four shows,” he said.

Planning for the concert was done on short notice and started over the summer, said Judy, since the student concert fee was not approved until late April. Judy said he faced many challenges organizing the show, especially since Lantz Arena was only available for one day.

Also, most students were not on campus to gauge their input on what bands they wanted. However, Judy said he felt Everclear was well known and liked by most students.

When looking for a band, Judy said the committee did not want to start out with a “huge name” because the committee does not have much experience organizing large shows yet.

The University Board does not know if Everclear will have an opening band yet.

“We’re building up and not jumping into things too fast,” he said.

Everclear has been very successful in the past, producing several top 40 hits, and had planned to come out with a new album this month. Unfortunately, Judy said, the album release date was pushed back.

After Everclear plays, the concert committee will start planning for a spring semester concert.

“I do know we are going to blow the pants off other concerts (that have been here),” concert coordinator Bud Wierenga said.