Bragg Memorial Stadium
Encyclopedia
Bragg Memorial Stadium is a 25,500-seat football stadium in Tallahassee, Florida
. It opened in 1957 and was renovated in 1982. It is home to the Florida A&M Rattlers
football
team.
Built in 1957, Bragg Memorial Stadium is home to Florida A&M Football. The stadium stands in lasting memory of two of the school's earliest figures in its storied intercollegiate athletic program—the "First Family of Rattler Football"—the father and son combination of Jubie and Eugene Bragg.
Jubie Bragg was one of the school's first athletic directors, being one of the key figures in the football program gaining varsity status in 1906. He returned after a brief stint at Tuskegee to become the school's first head football coach and athletic director at FAMU from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1930 to 1932.
Bragg's son, Eugene, one of the school's first All-America gridders (1927), took over the reins of the program in 1934, coaching through 1935, when a tragic automobile accident ended his life. Until the stadium's construction in 1957, the Rattlers played on a cow pasture south of the campus and then on a grass field, first known as Bragg Field located on a hill directly behind the current Gaither Gymnasium, where the present track and field complex is located.
The field was moved to that location, so that fans could utilize the bathroom facilities in the nearby dormitories. At the previous location in the cow pasture, it was quite a walk (over a quarter mile) to the nearest restroom. However, thanks to appropriations from the Florida Legislature, the all-steel stadium on the campus' westernmost edge was built in 1957. That configuration featured 10,500 permanent seats and bleachers elevated the capacity to 13,200.
But by the 1980s, the stadium had fallen into disrepair and had grown too small for the Rattler Football Program. The 1980 season saw the stadium all but condemned by the State of Florida engineers, prompting the Legislature (thanks to heavy lobbying by the FAMU Administration) to appropriate over a half million dollars for the stadium's renovation and expansion to begin 1981 with remodeling, to make the stadium suitable for crowds again.
By 1982, the renovation and expansion had made the stadium a 25,500-seat facility with press box elevator, a $125,000 scoreboard with message center, a built-in sprinkler and drainage system, improved restroom, concessions and ticket booths and paved parking areas.
The project was completed in 1983, with the unveiling of the Galimore-Powell Fieldhouse, located adjacent to the stadium's south end zone.
That structure contained coaches' offices, conference room, equipment and training/treatment rooms (with X-ray machines), two locker rooms, one for each team, plus an official's locker room and a weight training room.
Bragg Memorial Stadium now stands as one of the finest facilities in NCAA FCS football—truly a monument to the founding father and son of Rattler Football.
Total: $439,000
The short term priorities for the next two years are:
Total: $3.6M
The five to ten year priorities include:
The university also aims to construct a new field house that will include: classrooms, offices, academic support, a trophy room, Booster Club spaces, and fitness and training facilities.
Estimated total: $50M
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. It opened in 1957 and was renovated in 1982. It is home to the Florida A&M Rattlers
Florida A&M Rattlers
The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . FAMU offers men's sports in baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming , tennis...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team.
Built in 1957, Bragg Memorial Stadium is home to Florida A&M Football. The stadium stands in lasting memory of two of the school's earliest figures in its storied intercollegiate athletic program—the "First Family of Rattler Football"—the father and son combination of Jubie and Eugene Bragg.
Jubie Bragg was one of the school's first athletic directors, being one of the key figures in the football program gaining varsity status in 1906. He returned after a brief stint at Tuskegee to become the school's first head football coach and athletic director at FAMU from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1930 to 1932.
Bragg's son, Eugene, one of the school's first All-America gridders (1927), took over the reins of the program in 1934, coaching through 1935, when a tragic automobile accident ended his life. Until the stadium's construction in 1957, the Rattlers played on a cow pasture south of the campus and then on a grass field, first known as Bragg Field located on a hill directly behind the current Gaither Gymnasium, where the present track and field complex is located.
The field was moved to that location, so that fans could utilize the bathroom facilities in the nearby dormitories. At the previous location in the cow pasture, it was quite a walk (over a quarter mile) to the nearest restroom. However, thanks to appropriations from the Florida Legislature, the all-steel stadium on the campus' westernmost edge was built in 1957. That configuration featured 10,500 permanent seats and bleachers elevated the capacity to 13,200.
But by the 1980s, the stadium had fallen into disrepair and had grown too small for the Rattler Football Program. The 1980 season saw the stadium all but condemned by the State of Florida engineers, prompting the Legislature (thanks to heavy lobbying by the FAMU Administration) to appropriate over a half million dollars for the stadium's renovation and expansion to begin 1981 with remodeling, to make the stadium suitable for crowds again.
By 1982, the renovation and expansion had made the stadium a 25,500-seat facility with press box elevator, a $125,000 scoreboard with message center, a built-in sprinkler and drainage system, improved restroom, concessions and ticket booths and paved parking areas.
The project was completed in 1983, with the unveiling of the Galimore-Powell Fieldhouse, located adjacent to the stadium's south end zone.
That structure contained coaches' offices, conference room, equipment and training/treatment rooms (with X-ray machines), two locker rooms, one for each team, plus an official's locker room and a weight training room.
Bragg Memorial Stadium now stands as one of the finest facilities in NCAA FCS football—truly a monument to the founding father and son of Rattler Football.
Possible Future Renovations
At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, FAMU outlined its current and future facility upgrade priorities for the football program. Football’s immediate renovation needs add up to just under half a million dollars. The list is as follows:- Grade and sod fields ($175,000)
- Demolish and rebuild field tower ($40,000)
- Paint lockers and locker room ($35,000)
- Repair flooring ($22,000)
- Repair roof ($107,000)
- Repair hydrotherapy baths ($40,000)
- Structural evaluation of stadium ($20,000)
Total: $439,000
The short term priorities for the next two years are:
- Team meeting room, 2,600 sq ft ($481,000)
- Offense meeting room, 1,000 sq ft ($185,000)
- Defense meeting room, 1,000 sq ft ($185,000)
- Replace scoreboards w/2 Daktronics ($2.7M)
Total: $3.6M
The five to ten year priorities include:
- Adding an additional 15,000 seats to Bragg Memorial Stadium
- Renovating the existing field house
- Installing a new scoreboard
- Building sky boxes and press boxes.
The university also aims to construct a new field house that will include: classrooms, offices, academic support, a trophy room, Booster Club spaces, and fitness and training facilities.
Estimated total: $50M