Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium
Encyclopedia
Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium is an outdoor football
stadium
in Fort Collins
, Colorado
. It is the home field of the Colorado State Rams
of the Mountain West Conference
.
Hughes Stadium opened in 1968
on the west edge of Fort Collins, four miles (6 km) west of the school's main campus. It replaced the old Colorado Field
, a 12,000-seat on-campus stadium.
Hughes Stadium sits in a natural oval bowl, with seating on three sides and an open grass berm (not open for seating) behind the south endzone. The west (home side) stands are expanded out of the bowl and capped by a press box. The stadium is named for Harry W. Hughes
, the head coach
for 31 seasons (1911–41), then known as Colorado Agricultural.
The field itself was named in 2003
in honor of then head coach
Sonny Lubick
, who led the Rams for 15 seasons (1993-2007). Lubick succeeded Earle Bruce
and led CSU to multiple conference championships and bowl appearances.
The stadium has a seating capacity
of 34,400 with club seats and 12 luxury suites, completed in 2005. The playing field, at an elevation
of 5190 feet (1582 m) above sea level , was natural grass for the stadium's first 38 seasons; FieldTurf
was installed in the summer of 2006
.
The first game at Hughes Stadium was played on September 28, 1968, a 17-12 loss to North Texas State
, led by Mean Joe Greene
. From October 1989 to August 1991, the Rams won eight consecutive games at the stadium, a school record.
Bob Dylan
recorded the NBC
television special and live concert album Hard Rain at Hughes Stadium during a rainstorm in May 1976.
This stadium is one of the few in the nation that serves beer during football games.
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...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It is the home field of the Colorado State Rams
Colorado State Rams football
The Colorado State Rams football program, established in 1893, represents Colorado State University and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference under head coach Steve Fairchild...
of the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
.
Hughes Stadium opened in 1968
1968 in sports
1968 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France** Women's overall champion: Nancy Greene, Canada-American football:...
on the west edge of Fort Collins, four miles (6 km) west of the school's main campus. It replaced the old Colorado Field
Colorado Field
Colorado Field was the football stadium at Colorado State University between 1912 and 1967. Constructed entirely by the students and faculty in 1912, Colorado Field was the first football field in the state of Colorado to have grass sod on the playing surface...
, a 12,000-seat on-campus stadium.
Hughes Stadium sits in a natural oval bowl, with seating on three sides and an open grass berm (not open for seating) behind the south endzone. The west (home side) stands are expanded out of the bowl and capped by a press box. The stadium is named for Harry W. Hughes
Harry W. Hughes
-External links:...
, the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
for 31 seasons (1911–41), then known as Colorado Agricultural.
The field itself was named in 2003
2003 in sports
2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...
in honor of then head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Sonny Lubick
Sonny Lubick
Louis "Sonny" Lubick is a former head football coach at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. In his fourth decade as collegiate football coach, the 2007 season marked Lubick's 15th and final year at the helm of a Colorado State program that he built from virtually the ground up...
, who led the Rams for 15 seasons (1993-2007). Lubick succeeded Earle Bruce
Earle Bruce
Earle Bruce is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa , Iowa State University , Ohio State University , the University of Northern Iowa , and Colorado State University , compiling a career college football record of 154–90–2...
and led CSU to multiple conference championships and bowl appearances.
The stadium has a seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 34,400 with club seats and 12 luxury suites, completed in 2005. The playing field, at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 5190 feet (1582 m) above sea level , was natural grass for the stadium's first 38 seasons; FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
was installed in the summer of 2006
2006 in sports
2006 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 2, Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State 34-20 Notre Dame* January 2, Sugar Bowl – West Virginia 38-35 Georgia...
.
The first game at Hughes Stadium was played on September 28, 1968, a 17-12 loss to North Texas State
North Texas Mean Green football
The North Texas Mean Green football team represents the University of North Texas in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-FBS college football and competes as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Mean Green have attained several conference championships, including four...
, led by Mean Joe Greene
Joe Greene (American football)
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
. From October 1989 to August 1991, the Rams won eight consecutive games at the stadium, a school record.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
recorded the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television special and live concert album Hard Rain at Hughes Stadium during a rainstorm in May 1976.
This stadium is one of the few in the nation that serves beer during football games.
External links
- CSU Rams.com - Hughes Stadium
- Hughes Stadium page @ ballparks.com
- World Stadiums.com - photos - Hughes Stadium