The SGA Date Auction, an effort developed four years ago to help raise funds for the SGA scholarship fund, will be returning to The University of Alabama after taking a hiatus in 2012.

This year the Date Auction is partnering with Taste of Tuscaloosa to allow students a chance to try food from local restaurants. The event will be held Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Sellers Auditorium in the Bryant Conference Center.

Dates with students and UA athletes will be auctioned off to raise funds. Only UA students can bid during the night. The dates and highest bidders will be treated to a group dinner at a later date. Some of the students being auctioned off include SGA President Jimmy Taylor, 2013 UA Homecoming Queen Isabella Wesley, Natalie Goodwin, Mary Wills and Brandi Morrison. A live auctioneer will be leading the formal bidding process.

Leela Foley, director of media relations, works to publicize the Date Auction by creating news releases, contacting student organizations on campus and keeping up with SGA social media accounts.

“We hope to sell 500 tickets and raise $5,000-$6,000 towards the SGA scholarship fund,” Foley said. “There will be a local band and Taste of Tuscaloosa will have restaurants giving out free food. Restaurants like Jim ‘N Nicks, Zoe’s Kitchen and Chicken Salad Chick will be featured.”

The idea for the auction came from a UA student who submitted it to Ideas to Action, an SGA initiative working to engage students by offering a $250 scholarship each month to the student with the most innovative idea for SGA to implement.

In the past, the Date Auction has raised $13,000 for the SGA scholarship fund. The two SGA scholarships, the Need-Based Scholarship and the Students Giving Back to Students Fund, will continue to be funded with the help of the money raised during the Date Auction.

Door prizes will include several UA scholarships, gift certificates to Cold Stone Creamery and clothing gift baskets featuring Guy Harvey and Buffalo Jack’s.

A date with Andrew Gross, SGA treasurer and Zeta Beta Tau social chair, will be auctioned off at the event. He said he hopes this year’s event will raise a large amount of money to help out with the scholarship fund.

“Chris Willis, SGA vice president of financial affairs, and I have been working to improve the SGA Scholarship Endowment Fund. This will give us the ability to develop and expand our funds which will provide more opportunities for SGA to give back to students,” Gross said. “I hope I can help raise as much money as I can for the fund, and, get a good-looking date out of it as well. Roll Tide.”

All UA students and faculty are welcome to attend. Students can receive two Panhellenic points for attending. Tickets are $10 if purchased online at sga.tix.com before noon on Tuesday. Tickets are $15 at the door, and cash or Bama Cash will be accepted. For more information, contact Leela Foley at [email protected].