When going to college football games one sometimes fails to notice what stadium they are walking into or what the name of the stadium itself entails.
Instead, as people one is more mystified by the prospect of a loss or in even greater detail, a win. Nevertheless, there is a story behind every football stadium name in the Southern Conference.
Most of the stadiums in the SoCon are named after individuals who have had a vested interest in the program and do everything in their power to make the institution of higher learning plausible on the gridiron.
Appalachian State has been playing in the fairly newly monikered Kidd Brewer Stadium since 1988.
Brewer got his name on the digs for his continued support of Mountaineer athletics.
The coach of the Boone, NC, school from 1935-38, Brewer compiled a 30-5-3 record while he was the man in charge of the Mountaineers’ program. One of his teams was unscathed even, as the 1937 Mountaineers did not even allow a team to post points against them.
Brewer’s greatest gifs to Appalachian may not have been when he was coach. The former Senator made a name for himself in his later life as a developer, insurance salesman and philanthropist.
Brewer never forgot App though along the way and that is why the school is honored to have their stadium named after such an incredible man.
Chattanooga’s stadium is also named after a man of great acclaim; at least in the Volunteer state.
Finley Stadium ? the school’s football field since 1997 ? was named for the late W. Max Finley, who was a devoted supporter of Mocs’ football and an even more avid supporter of the University of Tennessee system, to which UTC is affiliated.
Finley, the former Chairman of the Rock Tenn Corporation, a pivotal business in the Chattanooga area, was an alum of Chattanooga and was enshrined in the Mocs’ Hall of Fame.
Finley shares his stadium in essence since the field is named after another man who made the Mocs’ new stadium a reality in 1997.
Davenport Field at Finley Stadium is named after the former CEO of the Chattanooga-based Krystal Company. Gordon Lee Davenport worked hard to see a stadium built for the school, serving as president of the Stadium Corporation and Campaign.
Both men have bronze busts in their likeness in the main entryway to Finley Stadium.
The Citadel stayed true to its military roots when it decided to name its stadium almost 57 years ago on October 16, 1948.
Johnson Hagood Stadium is named for Brigadier General Johnson Hagood.
A veteran of the Civil War who was integral part of the South’s fight in the war, Hagood later helped to ascend Wade Hampton to the governorship of the Palmetto state in the 1870’s and later became governor himself of the state of South Carolina.
When Elon decided that they wanted a new facility many people donated their time and efforts to see the cause to fruition.
One family gave a inordinate amount to the project and thus the stadium bears the family name. Rhodes Stadium is named in honor of Peggy and Warren “Dusty” Rhodes.
The enormous gift for Elon’s state-of-the-art facility is not the first “gift” that the Rhodes family has bestowed upon the institution. The monetary “gifts” are not confined to the field of athletics, as the Rhodes family has also donated money to provide educational funding for scholarship in sports medicine and individual aid for students.
One of the largest benefactors in Elon’s history, the Rhodes also have the honor of having the athletic training room and many other rooms across the Elon campus named in their honor.
The rare schools without a standard fare stadium name, Furman instead honors their famed mascot on their stadium in big letters.
Paladin Stadium came to fruition in 1981 and has been the home of the Paladins since the school moved from historic Sirrine Stadium in Greenville to its on campus digs.
Georgia Southern calls Allen E. Paulson Stadium home.
The 18,000-seat stadium was opened to the public in 1984 after four years of planning. At the time, Paulson Stadium was constructed for a cost of $4.7 million.
The stadium is named after the late Paulson due to his generous gift of $1 million for the help of the cost of construction.
In 2005, Western Carolina began its 32nd year of football at its football stadium dubbed E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
E.J. Whitmire Stadium took its name from a man who spent most of his adult life promoting the cause of Western Carolina and even served on its board from 1949-72.
Whitmire is not the only person to have his name honored on football gamedays at Western Carolina.
Former head coach and athletic director Bob Waters has the posthumous honor of having the Catamounts field of play named after him.
The man at the helm of Western Carolina’s only I-AA national championship game appearance in 1983 and is the still the school’s all-time winning coach, Waters succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or as it is more commonly known, Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Wofford’s football stadium opened its gates and doors in October of 1996. The school named the stadium, Gibbs Stadium in recognition of long-time donors Jimmy and Marsha Gibbs.
Jimmy Gibbs is the president of Gibbs International, which is based in Spartanburg, and is the world’s largest dealer of pre-owned textile machinery.
There is another tie between the private institution and the Gibbs’, as Jimmy Gibbs’ father, the late Melvin I. “Razor” Gibbs was a student at Wofford and a member of the class of 1943. While at Wofford, the Gibbs’ patriach earned 16 varsity letters.