"The Pebble" | |
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Former names | Faulkner Field (1932–1975) |
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Location | 118 College Drive Hattiesburg, MS 39406 |
Coordinates | 31°19′44″N89°19′53″W / 31.32889°N 89.33139°W |
Owner | University of Southern Mississippi |
Operator | University of Southern Mississippi |
Capacity | 36,000 (2008–present) 33,000 (1976–2007) 15,000 (1950–1975) 10,000 (1939–1949) 4,000 (1932–1938) |
Record attendance | 36,641 (September 5, 2015 vs Mississippi State) |
Surface | Shaw Sports Momentum Turf |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1932 |
Opened | October 29, 1932 |
Renovated | 1976, 1989, 2002, 2008 |
Expanded | 1939, 1950, 1976, 2008 |
Construction cost | $0 (original) $6.3 million (1976 renovation) $31.9 million (2008 renovation) |
Architect | Heery and Heery [1] JH&H Architects (renovation) |
Tenants | |
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (NCAA) (1932–present) |
MM Roberts Stadium, also known as "The Rock", is an American football stadium located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is the home of The University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles football team.
The stadium was originally opened on October 29, 1932 as "Faulkner Field", with a wooden grandstand which held 4,000 spectators at the time. It was named for local businessman L.E. Faulkner, who financed the materials and equipment for the stadium, which was built for free by local unemployed workers during the Great Depression. In 1938, permanent concrete stands which also housed dormitory space for student-athletes were built on the east side of the field, with the help of Southern Miss football players hauling the concrete. It was from this (hauling concrete blocks) that the stadium received the nickname "The Rock" (in reference to prison work crews—none of which were used to build the stadium).
The stadium was expanded again in 1950, when the 7,500-seat West Stadium Dormitory stands were built for $350,000. Later,[ when? ] 2,000 bleacher seats were added, as well as new lights (the stadium had lights as early as 1934) and a new scoreboard. By the end of this expansion, the stadium seated 15,000.
On September 5, 2015, the attendance record of 36,641 was set in the 2015 season opener against Mississippi State.
In 1974-76, the stadium was rebuilt at a total cost of $6.3 million, with two sets of double-decked grandstands constructed on either side (east and west stands), bringing seating capacity to 33,000. This forced the Golden Eagles to play their entire 1975 schedule away from Hattiesburg, with eight of 11 games in opponents' stadiums. The "home" games were played in New Orleans (at the new Louisiana Superdome), Jackson and Biloxi.
The stadium was renamed for M. M. Roberts, an alumnus of then-Mississippi College and member of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (popularly called "The College Board"). He is credited for helping to build the school up to its current university status, the largest such school in Mississippi south of Jackson. As a member of The College Board, Roberts was a staunch segregationist and attempted to prevent the Mississippi State basketball team from playing integrated Loyola University team in the NCAA tournament saying that such an integrated game would be "the greatest challenge to our way of life since Reconstruction". [2] (However, the playing surface is still known as Faulkner Field.) It was opened on September 25, 1976 with a loss at the hands of in-State rival Ole Miss.
In 1989, the current press box was added. Other improvements to the stadium include the Southern Miss Athletic Center, a field house and athletics training facility opened in 2002 in the north end zone, new lighting towers (for enhanced lighting of televised games), as well as the new Momentum Turf field added in 2004.
The playing field at Roberts Stadium underwent a name change in the 2004 summer when it was renamed Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium in honor of entrepreneur, Southern Miss graduate and Golden Eagle supporter, Gene Carlisle, who provided outstanding support and contribution to the Athletics Department and the University - much of which went to the installation of a new playing surface - Momentum Turf by Sportexe.
In 2008, the university opened an addition to the stadium that encloses the south end zone, adding nearly 4,000 seats and 33 specialty suites. The expansion included luxury boxes as well as a new scoreboard in the North Endzone and premium seating and a club level on the east side of the stadium. The Pride of Mississippi Marching Band sits in the student section seating of the stadium.
Taylor Field, known in its latter years as Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field for sponsorship reasons, was an open-air stadium located in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was the home field of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1936 until 2016, although a playing field existed at the site as early as 1910 and the team began playing there as early as 1921. Originally designed primarily to house baseball the stadium was converted to a football-only facility in 1966.
Kyle Field is an American football stadium in College Station, Texas located on the campus of Texas A&M University. It has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent concrete stadium since 1927. The seating capacity of 102,733 in 2021 makes it the largest in the Southeastern Conference and the fourth-largest stadium in the NCAA, the fourth-largest stadium in the United States, and the sixth-largest non-racing stadium in the world and the largest in Texas.
Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium, located in Austin, Texas, on the campus of the University of Texas, has been home to the Longhorns football team since 1924. The stadium has delivered a home field advantage with the team's home record through November 24, 2023 being 399–122–10 (.761). The official stadium seating capacity is 100,119, making the stadium the fourth largest in the Southeastern Conference, the seventh largest stadium in the United States, and the ninth largest stadium in the world.
Dix Stadium is a stadium in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Kent State Golden Flashes football team. In addition, since 2016 the stadium is also home to the Kent State women's soccer team and since 2019 to the women's lacrosse team. Previously, it was home to the Kent State field hockey team from 1997 to 2004 and served as a secondary home for the KSU men's soccer team in the 1970s. It opened on September 13, 1969 and was named in 1973 after Robert C. Dix, former publisher of the Record-Courier and a member of Kent State's Board of Trustees for more than three decades. It was built as an expansion and relocation of Memorial Stadium, with all of Memorial Stadium's main seating areas used at the current stadium in a new configuration. During soccer games, the playing surface is known as Zoeller Field.
Malone Stadium is a stadium in Monroe, Louisiana, United States, on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. It is primarily used for football and is the home field of the ULM Warhawks. The stadium, named for former coach James L. Malone, opened in 1978 and has a seating capacity of 27,617 people.
Vaught–Hemingway Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium located in University, Mississippi, United States. The stadium serves as the home for the University of Mississippi Rebels college football team. The stadium is named after Johnny Vaught and Judge William Hemingway. Since its expansion in 2016, it is the largest stadium in the state of Mississippi with a capacity of 64,038, and also holds the state record for attendance, at 68,126.
Ladd–Peebles Stadium is a stadium located in Mobile, Alabama. Opened in 1948, it has a seating capacity of 33,471. It is primarily used for American football. It is the home field the 68 Ventures Bowl through the 2024 season, and was the University of South Alabama Jaguars home stadium through the 2019 season. After the 2019 season, the Jaguars moved to the new on-campus Hancock Whitney Stadium. In addition to football, the stadium is also used for concerts, boxing matches, high school graduations, trade shows, and festivals. Numerous entertainers have performed at Ladd–Peebles Stadium.
Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium is a baseball park on the campus of Mississippi State University, just outside the city limits of Starkville, Mississippi, which serves as the home venue of the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team. DNF-PDS has been the setting of Southeastern Conference tournaments and NCAA Regional and Super Regional Championships, and it holds the current NCAA baseball on-campus single-game attendance record at 16,423. It is known for the Left Field Lounge.
A. W. Mumford Stadium is a 28,500-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of Southern University in Scotlandville, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It opened in 1928 and is home to the Southern Jaguars football and Southern University Laboratory School Kittens football teams, as well as the Southern women's soccer team. The Roscoe Moore Track located in the stadium is home to the men's and women's track and field teams.
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level mainly as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). USM's newest sport of women's beach volleyball, a sport not currently sponsored by the Sun Belt, was added in the 2018–19 school year and competes in Conference USA. The school's earliest nickname was Tigers. Thereafter came such nicknames as Normalites, Yellow Jackets, Confederates, and Southerners. Golden Eagles was selected in a student/alumni vote in the early 1972. Seymour d'Campus is the name of the modern-day mascot eagle.
Jack Coffey Field is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located on the campus of Fordham University in The Bronx, New York. It is the Fordham Rams' home for football, men's and women's soccer, and baseball. The facility opened for baseball 95 years ago in 1930, and was named in 1954 for baseball coach and longtime athletic director Jack Coffey, four years before his 1958 retirement.
Shotwell Stadium is a stadium in Abilene, Texas. It was built in 1959, using Rice Stadium as a model. It was initially named the Public Schools Stadium. The first game played in the stadium was in the fall of 1959. Shortly after the first season, the stadium was renamed Shotwell Stadium, after P. E. Shotwell, a longtime football coach at Abilene High School.
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles football program represents the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They play college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Eagles are currently members of the Sun Belt Conference and play their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
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Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium is a baseball venue located on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is home to the Kent State Golden Flashes baseball team, a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in Division I and the Mid-American Conference East Division. The field opened in 1966 and was previously known as Gene Michael Field from 1990 to 2003. The field was renamed in late 2003 and renovated in 2005 with additional upgrades made from 2006 through 2008 and again in 2013 to 2014. It has a seating capacity of 1,148 people with a Shaw Sports Turf synthetic playing surface.
The 2014 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a new member of the West Division of Conference USA. They were led by second-year head coach Todd Monken and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in C-USA play to finish in last place in the West Division.
The 2015 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the West Division of Conference USA. They were led by third-year head coach Todd Monken and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They finished the season 9–5, 7–1 in C-USA play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the Conference USA Football Championship Game where they lost to Western Kentucky. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, where they were defeated by Washington.
The 2016 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Jay Hopson. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in third place in the West Division. They were invited to the New Orleans Bowl where they defeated Louisiana–Lafayette.
The 2017 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by second-year head coach Jay Hopson. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they lost to Florida State.
The 2018 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by third-year head coach Jay Hopson. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for second in the West Division. Despite being bowl eligible, they were not invited to a bowl game.