Mississippi State has been playing baseball at the present stadium site for 50 years, dating back to April 3, 1967, and a 5–3 Mississippi State win over Illinois Wesleyan.
What today stands as one of college baseball's top facilities grew in large part from the labors of Tom D'Armi, chief assistant coach to longtime Bulldog skipper Paul Gregory. When the tin-roofed grandstand and bleachers seating more than 2,000 were moved to the stadium's present site in the mid-1960s, it became D'Armi's task to "build" the new field. The task of hauling in and leveling top soil, planting and nurturing the turf, building the bullpens, placing signs on the outfield fence and planting the cedar trees beyond the outfield fence, fell to D'Armi. The hard work didn't go unrecognized. The field was subsequently honored by the U.S. Groundskeeper's Association as the nation's best maintained athletic field.
The facility was constructed on schedule by W.G. Yates & Sons of Philadelphia, Miss.
The Bulldog Club, MSU's athletic fund-raising body, shouldered a $2 million bonding program to account for the biggest portion of the project, with the remainder financed by alumni and friends through the sale of $1,000, $500 and $250 chairback seats, honorary deeds to plots of Dudy Noble Field turf, and other general donations.
For the book Inside Dudy Noble, A Celebration of Mississippi State Baseball, MSU alumnus John Grisham wrote an introduction[2] about his time at MSU and in the Left Field Lounge.
The infield and portions of the adjoining outfield areas have in recent years been resodded, the infield dirt replaced, and the pitcher's mound rebuilt.
The green padding on the facing of the stadium wall was replaced prior to the 2002 season, and a new flooring material has been installed in both dugouts and the tunnels leading to them. The Bulldog locker room has been completely recarpeted, improved lighting added and new lockers installed, one of many projects funded by the four-year-old MSU Dugout Club.
Early in the 2004 season a speaker system was added near the concession stand area, while a new state-of-the-art scoreboard/message center was installed in the middle of the season beyond the existing scoreboard.
Also begun during the final week of the 2004 home season was the installation of wrought iron fencing and gates beneath the grandstand.
Additional stadium improvements are on the drawing board, all part of Mississippi State's commitment to maintain Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium as the consummate collegiate ballpark for players and spectators alike.
In 2007 Dudy Noble held the largest crowd in super regional history of 13,715 in a victory over the Clemson Tigers that sent the Bulldogs to the College World Series in Omaha, NE.
Following the 2008 Season, a new larger Hi-Def video board replaced the 4-year old smaller screen along with a covering for the back of the scoreboard which displays the current year's baseball schedule. Planned renovations for the summer of 2009 include replacing all the out-dated drainage and pump systems below the field and all grass on the field.
In March 2013, Dudy Noble debuted a new mobile concessions ordering service — dawgsnax.com — with in-seat food delivery for fans in the grandstand seating area.[3]
In 2017, Dudy Noble was mostly leveled to make way for an all-new Dudy Noble Field, which was completed for the 2019 season.
The Left Field Lounge is the area beyond the outfield fence. It is unique in college baseball, and has enabled the grounds to be named the "#1 place to watch college baseball" and among the "100 things you gotta do before you graduate" by Sports Illustrated.[4] In 2009 the lounge was named "the country's best tailgating experience" (among all sports venues) by ESPN Magazine.[5]
Championships
Dudy Noble Field has hosted four SEC tournaments (1979, 1981, 1983, and 1988), one SEC Western Division Tournament (1995), three NCAA District III tournaments (1973-75), 15 NCAA Regional tournaments (1979, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2021), and 4 Super Regionals (2007, 2016, 2019 and 2021.)
SEC and Super Regional weekend games typically draw the largest crowds, giving rise to huge weekend gatherings. Mississippi State currently holds the NCAA record for the largest single game on-campus baseball attendance at 16,423 in a game against SEC rival Ole Miss. In 2021 versus Notre Dame, MSU had the NCAA's top all-time highest attended Super Regional game with 14,385 fans. This 2021 Super Regional also had attendance of 13,971 and 11,754 in the other two games for an NCAA record attendance for a super regional series of 40,140. On April 14-16, 2023, Mississippi State fans set the on-campus record for most-attended 3-game series by packing 43,986 fans into the Dude over the course of three games against arch rival Ole Miss, a series they won 2-1. [6][7]
Mississippi State has all 15 of the top 15 on-campus crowds in the history of college baseball, and 23 of the top 25. Overall, DNF-PDS has held 22 crowds over 12,000 and 58 crowds over 10,000.
In 2012, college baseball writer Eric Sorenson ranked the stadium as the best big game atmosphere in Division I baseball.[8]
Top baseball crowds at DNF-PDS
Rank
Attendance
Opponent
Date
Record broken
1
16,423
Ole Miss
April 15, 2023
NCAA on-campus record
2
15,586
Ole Miss
April 12, 2014
#2 NCAA on-campus record
3
15,078
Texas A&M
April 16, 2016
#3 NCAA on-campus record
4
14,991
Florida
April 22, 1989
#4 NCAA on-campus record
5
14,739
Ole Miss
April 14, 2023
#5 NCAA on-campus record
6
14,562
Auburn
April 20, 2013
#6 NCAA on-campus record
7
14,385
Notre Dame
June 12, 2021
#7 NCAA on-campus record NCAA Super Regional single-game record
8
14,378
LSU
April 16, 1988
#8 NCAA on-campus record
9
14,320
Arizona State
February 25, 2023
#9 NCAA on-campus record
10
14,077
Alabama
March 26, 2022
#10 NCAA on-campus record
11
13,974
LSU
March 16, 2024
#11 NCAA on-campus record
12
13,971
Notre Dame
June 13, 2021
#12 on-campus record #2 NCAA Super Regional single-game record
13
13,761
Arkansas
April 25, 1992
#13 NCAA on-campus record
14
13,715
Clemson
June 9, 2007
#14 NCAA on-campus record #3 NCAA Super Regional single-game record
15
13,691
Kentucky
April 8, 2017
#15 NCAA on-campus record
16
13,617
Georgia
April 8, 2006
#16 NCAA on-campus record
17
13,452
Arizona
June 11, 2016
#18 NCAA on-campus record #4 NCAA Super Regional single-game record
18
13,351
Long Beach State
February 18, 2022
#19 NCAA on-campus record
19
13,338
Ole Miss
April 17, 2021
#20 NCAA on-campus record First home series after lifting of COVID-19 restrictions
20
13,224
Ole Miss
April 11, 2014
#21 NCAA on-campus record
21
13,132
Stanford
June 8, 2019
#22 NCAA on-campus record #5 NCAA Super Regional single-game record
22
13,123
Ole Miss
April 15, 2000
#23 NCAA on-campus record
23
13,004
Florida
April 18, 2005
#25 NCAA on-campus record
24
12,913
Arizona
June 10, 2016
#26 NCAA on-campus record #6 NCAA Super Regional single-game record
25
12,708
Auburn
April 24, 1993
#27 NCAA on-campus record
26
12,620
Clemson
June 8, 2007
#28 NCAA on-campus record #7 NCAA Super Regional single-game record
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity" and has a total research and development budget of $239.4 million, the largest in Mississippi.
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Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field was the college baseball stadium of the University of Florida, serving as the home field for the Florida Gators baseball team until being replaced by Condron Ballpark in 2020. McKethan Stadium was located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, in close proximity to the university's indoor sports arena, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, and its football stadium, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.
The Left Field Lounge is the area beyond the outfield fence in Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium at Mississippi State University. It has been named the "#1 place to watch college baseball", and among the "100 things you gotta do before you graduate" by Sports Illustrated.
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The Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team representing Mississippi State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The program is a member of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The current head coach is Chris Lemonis. They have appeared in the College World Series 12 times, winning their first national championship in their most recent appearance in 2021.
J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park is a baseball stadium in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is the home field of the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs college baseball team.
Clark Randolph "Dudy" Noble was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator.
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field is a baseball stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the Louisiana State University Tigers baseball team. The stadium section were named for Simeon Alex Box, an LSU letterman (1942), Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross recipient, who was killed in North Africa during World War II. On May 17, 2013, prior to a game against Ole Miss, the field was named and dedicated in honor of former LSU head baseball coach and athletic director Skip Bertman.
The 2013 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represents Mississippi State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I baseball season. The team is coached by John Cohen, in his 14th year as a collegiate head coach, and his 5th at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field, and compete in the Southeastern Conference's West Division.
The 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represents the Mississippi State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field. Due to construction of the new Dudy Noble Field, the first home game was not played until March 6, to give construction crews time to finish the bottom seating of the stadium. The new Dudy Noble Field in its entirety will not be completed until the 2019 season.
The Mississippi State–Ole Miss baseball rivalry is a college baseball rivalry between the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team of Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi and the Ole Miss Rebels baseball team of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The rivalry series has included a single neutral-site game since 1980, known first as the Mayor's Trophy and later as the Governor's Cup. This game is in addition to the games played as part of the Southeastern Conference schedule.
The 2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was a tournament of 64-teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national champion for the 2019 season. The 73rd annual edition of the tournament began on May 31, 2019, and concluded with the 2019 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which started on June 15 and ended on June 26.
The 2019 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represents Mississippi State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field.
The 2020 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium.
The 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was the 74th edition of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The 64-team tournament began on Friday, June 4, 2021, as part of the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season and concluded with the 2021 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which started on June 19 and ended on June 30. Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt in the best-of-three final series to win their first national championship in program history.
The 2021 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium. Mississippi State won the 2021 College World Series (CWS) Championship over Vanderbilt giving the Bulldogs their first team national championship in any team sport.
The 2022 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Dudy Noble Field. They entered this season as the defending national champions.
↑ "Take Me Out to the Ballpark". Mississippi State University University Libraries. Mississippi State University. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
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