Scott Stadium located in Charlottesville

Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football

Virginia Cavaliers football

Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 team. It sits on the University of Virginia's Grounds, east of Hereford College

Hereford College

Hereford College is a self-governed residential college at the University of Virginia that houses 500 students, mostly in single-occupancy rooms...

 and first-year dorms on Alderman Road but west of Brown College

Brown College at Monroe Hill

Brown College at Monroe Hill is a residential college at the University of Virginia, United States.Originally named Monroe Hill College, Brown opened in 1986 as the first modern residential college at the University of Virginia. It was renamed Brown College at Monroe Hill in recognition of the...

 and the Lawn

The Lawn

The Lawn is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The design shows Jefferson's mastery of Palladian architecture...

. Constructed in 1931, it is the oldest active football stadium in Virginia.

Scott Stadium, with a capacity of 61,500, is the 27th largest university-owned college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 stadium and is tied with Soldier Field

Soldier Field

Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...

, home of the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, as the 69th largest stadium by capacity in America when including the 31 National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 professional venues and college stadia not owned by any university, such as the Cotton Bowl

Cotton Bowl (stadium)

The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...

 and the Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl (stadium)

The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

.

It also hosts other events, such as concerts for bands that can fill an entire stadium, such as the Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...

 in 2001, The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 in 2005, and U2

U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

 in 2009. The Virginia High School League

Virginia High School League

The Virginia High School League is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unlike similar organizations in many other states, private or religious schools are prohibited from joining. Non-public schools belong to other organizations,...

 held its Group AAA Division 5 and 6 State Championship games at the stadium in 2007 and 2009. The facility has also hosted the Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship

NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship

The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....

 in 1977 and 1982 and the ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament in 2008.

History

Built as a replacement for the old Lambeth Field or "Colonnades," Scott Stadium bears the name of donor and University Rector Frederic Scott, and held 25,000 spectators at opening. The stadium had a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

 and specifically Monticello

Monticello

Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...

 Mountain out the south end of the stadium. An artificial turf system was installed in 1974, making impossible a long tradition of a mounted Cavalier riding into the stadium with the football team. David A. Harrison III provided a gift allowing natural grass to be reinstalled in the stadium, and the Cavalier has ridden into Scott every game since 1995. Another unique feature of Scott Stadium is the Adventures of Cavman, which takes place a few minutes prior to kickoff, on the videoboard. In this computer generated skit, the mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 of the opposing team is causing trouble on the Grounds of UVA, and the Cavalier slays him, then rides to the stadium via the Grounds. After the skit is over, the live Cavalier rides onto the field accompanied by orange and blue fireworks.

Top Attendance Records

Date	Attendance	Opponent	Result
Aug. 30, 2008	64,947	Southern California	UVA lost, 7–52
Nov. 13, 2004	63,701	Miami	UVA lost, 21–31
Nov. 19, 2005	63,344	Virginia Tech	UVA lost, 14–52
Oct. 15, 2005	63,106	Florida State	UVA won, 26–21
Nov. 6, 2004	63,072	Maryland	UVA won, 16–0
Oct. 18, 2003	62,875	Florida State	UVA lost, 14–19
Sept. 11, 2004	62,790	North Carolina	UVA won, 56–24
Oct. 7, 2004	61,833	Clemson	UVA won, 30–10
Aug. 30, 2003	61,737	Duke	UVA won, 27–0
Nov. 24, 2007	61,711	Virginia Tech	UVA lost, 21–33

1981

The first expansion to the stadium's capacity came in 1981, when upper decks and grass hill seating allowed 41,000 fans.

2000

Carl Smith's donations helped make the most recent contributions to Scott Stadium in 2000, filling in the upper deck and south end to allow 20,000 additional fans, and installing the pergola, state-of-the-art lighting and gigantic audio/visual tower known as "Hoo-Vision," as well as a new lighting system placed on towers with "V's" built in. The facility's official name is a result of this string of donations.

Traditions and controversy

Traditionally, males wear coats and ties and females wear sundress

Sundress

A sundress is a dress intended to be worn by women in warm weather. Typically, it is an informal or casual dress in a lightweight fabric, most commonly cotton, and usually loose fitting. The dress is intended to be worn without a layering top, and the design must therefore cut a balance between...

es to games, which is also tradition at Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

, Auburn

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

, Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

, Ole Miss

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

, Mississippi State

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

 and Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

. Beginning during the 2003 season, however, head coach Al Groh

Al Groh

Al Groh is the defensive coordinator of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team. He is also a former head coach of the University of Virginia football team, a former head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team and the former head coach of the New York Jets of the NFL...

 called upon fans to set aside traditional attire for orange clothing. Over the following seasons, many fans took to wearing orange t-shirts with slogans like "Orange Crush," "Orange Fever", "Al's Idiots" and "Sea of Orange". See image above and notice the orange-colored student section, to the left of where the band was sitting.

The t-shirt movement has been welcomed by many, but ties and sundresses can still be easily spotted at Scott Stadium among students and alumni. Some have compromised by wearing ties with orange dress shirts or orange sundresses. The Cavalier Daily

The Cavalier Daily

The Cavalier Daily is the fully independent student-run newspaper at the University of Virginia, founded in 1890. It is the oldest daily college newspaper in Virginia and the oldest newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia...

, the University's daily student-published newspaper, weighed in on the debate in its September 1, 2005, lead editorial. The Declaration, an alternative weekly news magazine at the University, also ran a feature story on the debate prior to the 2006 home opener.

The 2008 season marked the debut of the athletics department's "Power of Orange" marketing campaign. Nike

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

 released the official orange t-shirt, while orange towels bearing the logo were distributed to all fans at the home opener to achieve an "orange out". Famous alumni will be utilized at every home game to raise a large Power of Orange flag just before kickoff at the top of The Hill.

September 8, 1990: #14 Virginia 20, #9 Clemson 7

UVa entered this game with an 0-29 record against Clemson. The win was Virginia's first-ever victory over an opponent ranked in the top ten. Both goalposts came down when the fans stormed the field; the first actually fell with 48 seconds still on the clock. The win proved to be something of a watershed in UVA football history in that it set the stage for the 1990 squad to begin the season 7–0, rising to #1 in the polls for the first time. In addition, in contrast to Virginia's historical futility against Clemson prior to the 1990 game, as of 2009 UVA has beaten Clemson eight times (and tied once) since that 1990 win, although since 2004 the schools no longer play every year due to the Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

's expansion.

November 3, 1990: #16 Georgia Tech 41, #1 Virginia 38

The Yellow Jackets ended Virginia's three-week reign at #1 in the polls as they overcame a two-touchdown halftime deficit to win on Scott Sisson's 37-yard field goal with :07 left. Undefeated Georgia Tech would go on to win the rest of its games to take a share of the National Championship.

November 2, 1995: #24 Virginia 33, #2 Florida State 28

This nationally televised contest was the first Thursday night game played at Scott Stadium and marked Florida State's first loss in an ACC game (after winning its first 29). In arguably the greatest victory in Virginia football history, FSU running back Warrick Dunn

Warrick Dunn

Warrick De'Mon Dunn is a former American football running back, and current minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft, after playing college football at Florida State...

 was stopped inches from the south end zone goal line after taking a direct snap on the game's final play. Fans stormed the field and brought down both goalposts, a feat not since repeated at Scott Stadium.

November 16, 1996: Virginia 20, #6 North Carolina 17

With Mack Brown

Mack Brown

William Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...

's squad poised to clinch a spot in the Bowl Alliance

Bowl Alliance

The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship bowl game and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences...

, UVa trailed North Carolina 17-3 in the 4th quarter and the Tar Heels were driving for the knockout blow when Antwan Harris picked off a 3rd down pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. Following quarterback Tim Sherman's touchdown scramble on the Hoos' next drive, kicker Rafael Garcia hit the game-winning 32-yard field goal with :39 left. In this installment of the South's Oldest Rivalry, Virginia extended North Carolina's winless drought in Scott Stadium to 15 years with the 20-17 upset.

October 15, 2005: Virginia 26, #4 Florida State 21

Ten seasons after the 33-28 milestone, Virginia's 1995 ACC Co-Championship squad was honored in a halftime ceremony. UVa went on to win in a 26–21 upset for its first victory over FSU since the 1995 game.http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/101605aaa.html Quarterback Marques Hagans

Marques Hagans

-St. Louis Rams:Hagans was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played in four games making eight receptions for 101 yards...

 threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and Connor Hughes kicked four field goals in the victory.http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/16/sports/sp-top25sep16

Following the game a large part of the crowd stormed the field

Pitch invasion

A pitch invasion or field invasion, known as rushing the field in the United States, occurs when a crowd of people who are watching a sports game run onto the field, to celebrate or protest about an incident...

, with some fans climbing the goalposts. The celebration was marred, however, by the fact that 12 people were injured in a nearly lethal stampede accompanying the rush to the field.

External links

• Carl Smith Center (from VirginiaSports.com)