CU Boulder’s Conference Services rolls out the red carpet for the National Order of the Arrow for six days starting July 29. NOA, the honor society for Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts of America, hosts its conference—NOAC—every two years at a major university. 

“NOAC is CU Boulder’s largest conference in almost two decades. It will fill 6,000 campus beds, 500 local hotel rooms, 170 classrooms, UMC, Rec Center and the CU Events Center for multiple events. Our dining halls will also serve more than 100,000 meals,” said Daniel Dykstra, director of CU Boulder Conference Services.” 

A campuswide experience, NOAC promises to train, entertain and honor this high-achieving group of scouts from around the country. While some are already attending college, the conference is also an opportunity to share the beauty of our campus to high school-aged youth who may consider applying to CU Boulder in the future. Scouting America welcomes youth of all gender identities into its programs and organizers anticipate 20% of conference attendees to identify as female.

Campus impacts

NOAC will impact campus significantly, so be ready to plan ahead and ensure you have extra time to reach campus destinations. On July 26, approximately 1,000 event staff and volunteers arrive and attendance will swell to more than 6,500 from July 29 to Aug. 3.

Dykstra suggests using apps such as Google Maps to check traffic, considering using public transportation to access campus and scheduling important meetings outside of the event window. As always, campus operating status and safety information can be found on the CU Boulder Alerts website.