Vanderbilt Stadium
Encyclopedia
Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field is a football
stadium located in Nashville
, Tennessee
. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in the South to be used exclusively for college football, it is the home of the Vanderbilt University
football team. Vanderbilt Stadium hosted the Tennessee Oilers
and the first Music City Bowl
in 1998 and also hosted the Tennessee state high school football championships for many years.
It is the smallest football stadium in the Southeastern Conference
.
The first facility was named for William Dudley, Dean of the Vanderbilt University Medical School from 1885 until his death in 1914. Dudley was responsible for the formation of the SIAA
, the predecessor of the Southern Conference
and Southeastern Conference
, in 1895, and was also instrumental in the formation of the NCAA
in 1906.
Old Dudley was the site where legendary head coach Dan McGugin led Vanderbilt to both of its football national championships (Billingsley National title), in 1906 and 1911.
In 1922, after a 0.742 winning percentage during the eighteen-year tenure of Coach McGugin, the Commodores had outgrown old Dudley Field. It was time for a new stadium.
The old field was re-christened Curry Field, in honor of Irby "Rabbit" Curry
, a standout football player from 1914–16, who left Vanderbilt to serve in the American Expeditionary Force to Europe in World War I. Curry had been killed while flying a combat mission over France in 1918.
The first game played at Dudley Field was between the home-standing Commodores and the powerful Michigan Wolverines
. A late 4th quarter goal-line stand by the Commodores preserved a 0-0 tie. The following Friday, nearby Hume-Fogg High School
played a game at Dudley. Senior Jimmie Armistead returned the opening kick for a touchdown, providing the first touchdown ever recorded in the stadium. Armistead would go on to a successful career at Vanderbilt and was the captain and starting halfback
for the 1927 team.
In 1949, Vanderbilt officials built a modern press box at Dudley Field, replacing a platform that had been used prior to that. Additional seating was also added to the western side of stadium, boosting capacity to 27,901.
On September 25, 1954, Vanderbilt hosted the No. 10-ranked Baylor Bears
in the first night game ever played on the Dudley Field surface. The lights had been installed so that Dudley Field, Nashville's largest outdoor venue at the time, would be able to host the Billy Graham
Crusade on campus.
In 1960, nearly 7,000 more seats are added to the stadium, with an expansion on the east side of the stadium near Memorial Gym. Capacity jumped to 34,000.
At a price of $250,000, officials installed what was then a state-of-the-art Astroturf synthetic surface to Dudley Field in 1970.
The stadium's maximum capacity after the 1980–81 renovation was 41,448, consisting of a single-decked horseshoe grandstand filled in with wooden bleachers from the original 1960 expansion. The project cost $10.1 million, and the Commodores celebrated a sold-out dedication by taking a 23–17 comeback win over Maryland
on September 12, 1981.
The new stadium and its Fred Russell Press Box (named for Vanderbilt alumnus, former football player, and sports journalist Fred Russell
), recalling Vanderbilt's naval themed-mascot the Commodore, were designed to resemble a United States naval vessel slicing through the water, and the color-scheme picked for the exterior of the stadium was battleship gray.
To enhance the gameday experience, officials added a Jumbotron video screen in the north end zone, adjacent to Kensington Place, in advance of the Tennessee Oilers playing their 1998 home games in the facility. The stadium served as Nashville's main outdoor stadium until the completion of what is now LP Field
in 1999, when the Oilers — now the Titans
— moved to their brand-new facility.
The same year, in 1999, the playing surface was returned to grass, and Vanderbilt officials removed an aging bleacher section — from the 1960 renovation — from the north end zone, lowering capacity to 39,773, 2003. The bleachers from the north end zone were replaced them with a visitors' concourse that affords any fan in the stadium a field-level, up-close experience with the playing surface. The metal frames for the bleachers were relocated to Mt. Juliet Christian School's football facility in suburban Nashville.
After nearby Hawkins Field
, Vanderbilt's baseball stadium, was constructed in a classic brick-and-iron style in 2002, Vanderbilt administrators began to look at giving Vanderbilt Stadium a similar flavor. They also began to consider the construction of a football facility in place of the present concourse and JumboTron in the north end zone.
Nine months later, on May 20, 2008, Vice Chancellor David Williams II announced, in a McGugin Center press conference, that the University was beginning a five-phased, multi-million dollar program of renovations to Vanderbilt athletics facilities, including extensive renovations and additions to Vanderbilt Stadium.
Under the plan announced by Williams, Vanderbilt Stadium will be modified (in the first four phases) as follows:
! Phase !! Date completed !! Estimated cost !! colspan=2|Renovation and construction>
I >
August 2008
$ 12 million
Brick-and-iron fences, new ticketing facility,
renovation of east concourse, new paint scheme
throughout interior, exterior of stadium painted
gold, "VANDERBILT" and Star-V logos
added to exterior of press box
II >
Expected
August 2009
(under construction)
$ 12 million
Renovation of west concourse, brick-
and-iron fences added to
west concourse, addition of
brick to exterior of Natchez Trace (west)
facade of stadium, construction of
new entry plazas at Gates 2 and 3
on Jess Neely Drive
III >
Expected
August 2010
(planned)
$ 8 million
Renovation of north concourse, brick-
and-iron fences added to
north concourse, completion of
bricking of exterior of entire stadium,
construction of new entry plazas at
Gates 1 and 4 on
Kensington Avenue
IV >
Expected
August 2011
(planned)
$ 18 million
Construction of additional seating, football
offices, locker rooms, recruiting facilities, hospitality
facilities, and indoor/outdoor luxury suites
in north end zone,
with relocation of JumboTron, addition
of high-quality synthetic playing surface on
Dudley Field
, the Oilers/Titans franchise initially played at the larger Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
in Memphis
while LP Field
(then called Adelphia Coliseum) was under construction, with the intention of building up a statewide fan-base.
Dismal attendance during the 1997 season
, due in part to the unwillingness of many Nashville fans to make the trip to Memphis, and Memphis fans unwilling to support the Nashville team after years of failing to secure their own NFL franchise, led the team to decide to play the 1998 season
at the smaller Vanderbilt Stadium, even though Vanderbilt refused to allow the sale of alcohol at the NFL 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 located in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in the South to be used exclusively for college football, it is the home of the Vanderbilt University
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...
football team. Vanderbilt Stadium hosted the Tennessee Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
and the first Music City Bowl
Music City Bowl
The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998.-Site:The first Music City Bowl was played at Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998...
in 1998 and also hosted the Tennessee state high school football championships for many years.
It is the smallest football stadium in the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
.
Old Dudley Field
Vanderbilt football began in 1892, and for thirty years, Commodore football teams played on the northeast corner of campus where Wilson Hall, Kissam Quandrangle, and a portion of the Vanderbilt University Law School now stand, adjacent to today's Twenty-First Avenue South.The first facility was named for William Dudley, Dean of the Vanderbilt University Medical School from 1885 until his death in 1914. Dudley was responsible for the formation of the SIAA
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS football programs were members of this conference at some point, as were at least 19 other schools...
, the predecessor of the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
and Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
, in 1895, and was also instrumental in the formation of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
in 1906.
Old Dudley was the site where legendary head coach Dan McGugin led Vanderbilt to both of its football national championships (Billingsley National title), in 1906 and 1911.
In 1922, after a 0.742 winning percentage during the eighteen-year tenure of Coach McGugin, the Commodores had outgrown old Dudley Field. It was time for a new stadium.
New Dudley Field
There was not enough room to expand old Dudley Field at its site near Kirkland Hall, so Vanderbilt administrators purchased land adjacent to what is today Twenty-Fifth Avenue South, on the west side of campus, for the new facility. The new stadium, the first in the South built solely for football, was christened "Dudley Field," and its capacity was 20,000.The old field was re-christened Curry Field, in honor of Irby "Rabbit" Curry
Irby Curry
Irby Rice "Rabbit" Curry was an American football quarterback for Vanderbilt University from 1914 to 1916. He was selected as a first-team All-Southern player in 1915 and 1916 and a third-team All-American in 1916...
, a standout football player from 1914–16, who left Vanderbilt to serve in the American Expeditionary Force to Europe in World War I. Curry had been killed while flying a combat mission over France in 1918.
The first game played at Dudley Field was between the home-standing Commodores and the powerful Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
. A late 4th quarter goal-line stand by the Commodores preserved a 0-0 tie. The following Friday, nearby Hume-Fogg High School
Hume-Fogg High School
Hume-Fogg Academic High School is a public magnet high school located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, teaching grades 9-12.-History:Hume-Fogg's original incarnation, Hume High School, which opened in 1855 on Eighth Avenue and Broad, was the first public school in Nashville.In 1875 Fogg High...
played a game at Dudley. Senior Jimmie Armistead returned the opening kick for a touchdown, providing the first touchdown ever recorded in the stadium. Armistead would go on to a successful career at Vanderbilt and was the captain and starting halfback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the 1927 team.
In 1949, Vanderbilt officials built a modern press box at Dudley Field, replacing a platform that had been used prior to that. Additional seating was also added to the western side of stadium, boosting capacity to 27,901.
On September 25, 1954, Vanderbilt hosted the No. 10-ranked Baylor Bears
Baylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.-History:...
in the first night game ever played on the Dudley Field surface. The lights had been installed so that Dudley Field, Nashville's largest outdoor venue at the time, would be able to host the Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
Crusade on campus.
In 1960, nearly 7,000 more seats are added to the stadium, with an expansion on the east side of the stadium near Memorial Gym. Capacity jumped to 34,000.
At a price of $250,000, officials installed what was then a state-of-the-art Astroturf synthetic surface to Dudley Field in 1970.
Battleship gray
Over the winter and spring of 1980–81, most of the Dudley Field stadium was demolished, with the remaining stands on each sideline raised ten feet through the use of 22 hydraulic jacks on each side of the stadium. However, the playing surface is still called Dudley Field.The stadium's maximum capacity after the 1980–81 renovation was 41,448, consisting of a single-decked horseshoe grandstand filled in with wooden bleachers from the original 1960 expansion. The project cost $10.1 million, and the Commodores celebrated a sold-out dedication by taking a 23–17 comeback win over Maryland
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
on September 12, 1981.
The new stadium and its Fred Russell Press Box (named for Vanderbilt alumnus, former football player, and sports journalist Fred Russell
Fred Russell
Fred Russell was an American sports writer prominent in the Golden Era of Sports in the 20th century...
), recalling Vanderbilt's naval themed-mascot the Commodore, were designed to resemble a United States naval vessel slicing through the water, and the color-scheme picked for the exterior of the stadium was battleship gray.
To enhance the gameday experience, officials added a Jumbotron video screen in the north end zone, adjacent to Kensington Place, in advance of the Tennessee Oilers playing their 1998 home games in the facility. The stadium served as Nashville's main outdoor stadium until the completion of what is now LP Field
LP Field
LP Field is a football stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
in 1999, when the Oilers — now the Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
— moved to their brand-new facility.
The same year, in 1999, the playing surface was returned to grass, and Vanderbilt officials removed an aging bleacher section — from the 1960 renovation — from the north end zone, lowering capacity to 39,773, 2003. The bleachers from the north end zone were replaced them with a visitors' concourse that affords any fan in the stadium a field-level, up-close experience with the playing surface. The metal frames for the bleachers were relocated to Mt. Juliet Christian School's football facility in suburban Nashville.
After nearby Hawkins Field
Hawkins Field
Hawkins Field is a baseball stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the home field of the Vanderbilt Commodores college baseball team. The stadium opened in 2002 adjacent to Vanderbilt Stadium and Memorial Gymnasium and holds 3,700 people...
, Vanderbilt's baseball stadium, was constructed in a classic brick-and-iron style in 2002, Vanderbilt administrators began to look at giving Vanderbilt Stadium a similar flavor. They also began to consider the construction of a football facility in place of the present concourse and JumboTron in the north end zone.
Brick-and-iron
On July 24, 2007, Vanderbilt officials announced they were in the preliminary stages of a stadium renovation plan, with financing, design concept, and date of completion yet to be determined.Nine months later, on May 20, 2008, Vice Chancellor David Williams II announced, in a McGugin Center press conference, that the University was beginning a five-phased, multi-million dollar program of renovations to Vanderbilt athletics facilities, including extensive renovations and additions to Vanderbilt Stadium.
Under the plan announced by Williams, Vanderbilt Stadium will be modified (in the first four phases) as follows:
renovation of east concourse, new paint scheme
throughout interior, exterior of stadium painted
gold, "VANDERBILT" and Star-V logos
added to exterior of press box
August 2009
(under construction)
and-iron fences added to
west concourse, addition of
brick to exterior of Natchez Trace (west)
facade of stadium, construction of
new entry plazas at Gates 2 and 3
on Jess Neely Drive
August 2010
(planned)
and-iron fences added to
north concourse, completion of
bricking of exterior of entire stadium,
construction of new entry plazas at
Gates 1 and 4 on
Kensington Avenue
August 2011
(planned)
offices, locker rooms, recruiting facilities, hospitality
facilities, and indoor/outdoor luxury suites
in north end zone,
with relocation of JumboTron, addition
of high-quality synthetic playing surface on
Dudley Field
NFL use
Upon moving to TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, the Oilers/Titans franchise initially played at the larger Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is a football stadium, located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds, in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team...
in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
while LP Field
LP Field
LP Field is a football stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
(then called Adelphia Coliseum) was under construction, with the intention of building up a statewide fan-base.
Dismal attendance during the 1997 season
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
, due in part to the unwillingness of many Nashville fans to make the trip to Memphis, and Memphis fans unwilling to support the Nashville team after years of failing to secure their own NFL franchise, led the team to decide to play the 1998 season
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
at the smaller Vanderbilt Stadium, even though Vanderbilt refused to allow the sale of alcohol at the NFL games.
Non-sporting events
Over its history, Vanderbilt Stadium has occasionally been used for concerts and major speakers. Those events include:- Billy GrahamBilly GrahamWilliam Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
- September 19, 1954 and June 24-27, 1979 - John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
- May 18, 1963 - Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
- May 8, 1994 - The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe 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...
- October 26, 1997 - Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews BandDave 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...
- April 25, 2009 - U2U2U2 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...
- July 2, 2011