Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual Liberty Bowl, the annual Southern Heritage Classic, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team of the American Athletic Conference. It has also been the host of several attempts at professional sports in the city, as well as other local football games and other gatherings.
The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic Conference, except for the rifle team, which is a member of the single-sport Great America Rifle Conference.
Sports in Memphis, Tennessee are supported in the city by Memphis Park Services, which offers a wide range of public facilities, including 17 swimming pools, 8 public golf courses, 48 athletic fields hosting a range of 510 youth and 269 adult teams, 130 basketball courts, 7 tennis centers and a soccer complex.
The 1934 edition of the American Football League was a short-lived professional american football minor league with teams based in the American South and Southwest. The first of several minor leagues with the same name, the 1934 was also one of the first involving teams not located in the American Midwest and East. While its membership was the cornerstone of American football in the southern U.S., the AFL had only one season of competition and folded after cancelling competition in the 1935 season.
The 2008 Memphis Tigers football team represented the University of Memphis in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Memphis competed as a member of the Conference USA. The team was led by head coach Tommy West. The Tigers played their home games at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 6–6 record, which was enough to attain bowl eligibility. Memphis accepted a bid to play against South Florida in the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Tigers lost, 41–14.
The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Tigers play in the American Athletic Conference as an all-sports member. They play home games at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The team's head coach is Ryan Silverfield.
Justin James Fuente is an American football coach who currently serves as a football analyst for the Indiana Hoosiers. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 2016 to 2021. He was the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year. Fuente was the head football coach at the University of Memphis from 2012 to 2015. He was an assistant at Texas Christian University from 2007 to 2011 and previously at Illinois State University from 2001 to 2006. Fuente attended the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Murray State University after his redshirt sophomore season. He played quarterback for both schools. Fuente played a single season with the Oklahoma Wranglers of the Arena Football League.
Michael Kelly Norvell is an American college football coach who is currently head coach at Florida State. Norvell was previously the head coach at Memphis. He has coached at Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, and Central Arkansas. He played wide receiver at the University of Central Arkansas from 2001 to 2005 and is the school's all-time receptions leader.
Jake Daniel Elliott, nicknamed Jake "The Make" for his kicking ability, is an American football placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Memphis. He was part of the Eagles' Super Bowl LII championship team against the New England Patriots.
The Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers. The rivalry between these two schools dates to their first college football game in 1966, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining attention as well, having started in 1968. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of five conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA, and more recently in the American Athletic Conference.
The 1961 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State College as an independent during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. In its fourth season under head coach Billy J. Murphy, the team compiled an 8–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 332 to 75. Don Coffey and Jack Carter were the team captains. The team played its home games at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1962 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State College as an independent during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. In its fifth season under head coach Billy J. Murphy, the team compiled an 8–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 261 to 67. Jerry Bell and Wayne Evans were the team captains. The team played its home games at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1963 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State College as an independent during the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. In its sixth season under head coach Billy J. Murphy, the team compiled a 9–0–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 199 to 52. Richard Saccoccia was the team captain. The team played its home games at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1964 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State College as an independent during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In its seventh season under head coach Billy J. Murphy, the team compiled a 5–4 record and outscored opponents by a total of 173 to 103. Chuck Brooks and Bob Finnamore were the team captains. The team played its home games at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1966 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State College as an independent during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In its ninth season under head coach Billy J. Murphy, the team compiled a 7–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 121 to 96. The team played its home games at Memphis Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1969 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State University as an independent during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. In its 12th season under head coach Billy J. Murphy, the team compiled an 8–2 record, won the MVC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 328 to 191. The team played its home games at Memphis Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1973 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State University as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In its second season under head coach Fred Pancoast, the team compiled an 8–3 record and outscored opponents by a total of 264 to 167. The team played its home games at Memphis Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1974 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State University as an independent during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In its third and final season under head coach Fred Pancoast, the team compiled an 7–4 record and outscored opponents by a total of 225 to 148. The team played its home games at Memphis Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1978 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State University as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its fourth season under head coach Richard Williamson, the team compiled a 4–7 record and was outscored by a total of 297 to 200. The team played its home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 1980 Memphis State Tigers football team represented Memphis State University as an independent during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its sixth and final season under head coach Richard Williamson, the team compiled a 2–9 record and was outscored by a total of 255 to 115. The team played its home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
