Jordan-Hare Stadium
Encyclopedia
Jordan–Hare Stadium is the playing venue for Auburn University
's football
team located on campus in Auburn
, Alabama
, USA. The stadium
is named for Ralph "Shug" Jordan
, the University's winningest football coach, and Cliff Hare
, a member of Auburn's first football team as well as Dean of the Auburn University School of Chemistry and President of the Southern Conference
. On November 19, 2005, the playing field at the stadium was named Pat Dye Field in honor of former Auburn coach and athletic director Pat Dye
. The stadium reached its current seating capacity
of 87,451 with the 2004 expansion and is the twelfth largest stadium in the NCAA
. By the end of the 2006 season, it was estimated that 19,308,753 spectators had attended a football game in Jordan–Hare. Jordan–Hare Stadium regularly makes lists of the best gameday atmospheres and most intimidating places to play.
on November 30, 1939 under head coach, Jack Meagher
. By the time the stadium was renamed Cliff Hare Stadium in 1949, it had grown to a capacity of 21,500. Shug Jordan became head coach of the Tigers in 1951, and he was still coaching when the stadium was renamed to honor him in 1973, making it the first stadium in the United States
to be named for an active coach.
Throughout its history, Auburn played games against their traditional rivals at neutral sites rather than Jordan–Hare Stadium. This occurred due to the difficulty in traveling to Auburn during the first half of the 20th century and the capacity of other stadiums. These games included Alabama
(played at Legion Field
in Birmingham), Tennessee
(played at Legion Field
in Birmingham or Knoxville
), Georgia Tech
(played in Birmingham or Atlanta
), and Georgia
(played at Memorial Stadium in Columbus
). As Auburn became more accessible and the stadium expanded in capacity, more games were moved to Jordan–Hare Stadium. The most notable of these matchups occurred on December 2, 1989, when Auburn defeated #2 Alabama in the first Iron Bowl
played at Jordan–Hare.
With the addition of the west upper deck in 1980 and the east upper deck in 1987, the stadium became the largest in the state of Alabama until the 2006 and 2010 expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium
(capacity 101,821) at the University of Alabama
. The 2004 stadium expansion extended the east upper deck by an additional section on each end, adding more luxury suites and additional general seating to reach the current capacity of 87,451.
In 1998, artist Michael Taylor was commissioned to paint ten large mural
s on the east-side exterior of the stadium. The paintings depicted the greatest players, teams, and moments from Auburn's football history to that date.
http://www.plexico.net/sg/jordanhare/jh_murals.html In 2006, Auburn updated these murals, including images that recognized great moments in Auburn football history up to 2006. http://www.theplainsman.com/front/2006/sep-06/stadium_gets_new_look_murals In 2011, Auburn once again updated the murals, recognizing the greatest coaches, players, and teams up until 2011.
Before the 2007 season
, a new, $2.9 million, 30 feet (9.1 m) high by 74 feet (22.6 m) wide high definition
Daktronics
LED
video display was installed in the south end-zone of Jordan–Hare Stadium. Auburn is the first SEC school to install an HD video display and the second in the NCAA (after Texas' Godzillatron
).
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
's football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team located on campus in Auburn
Auburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, USA. The stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
is named for Ralph "Shug" Jordan
Ralph Jordan
James Ralph "Shug" Jordan was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Auburn from 1951 to 1975, where he compiled a record of 176–83–6. He is the winningest coach in Auburn Tigers football...
, the University's winningest football coach, and Cliff Hare
Cliff Hare
Clifford Leroy Hare was a member of Auburn University’s first football team who went on to serve as chair of the Auburn Faculty Athletic Committee. Auburn’s football stadium, Jordan-Hare Stadium, is co-named for the longtime professor and dean of the School of Chemistry...
, a member of Auburn's first football team as well as Dean of the Auburn University School of Chemistry and President 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...
. On November 19, 2005, the playing field at the stadium was named Pat Dye Field in honor of former Auburn coach and athletic director Pat Dye
Pat Dye
Patrick Fain Dye is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University , the University of Wyoming , and Auburn University compiling a career college football record of 153–62–5...
. The stadium reached its current seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 87,451 with the 2004 expansion and is the twelfth largest stadium in 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...
. By the end of the 2006 season, it was estimated that 19,308,753 spectators had attended a football game in Jordan–Hare. Jordan–Hare Stadium regularly makes lists of the best gameday atmospheres and most intimidating places to play.
History
The stadium, then known as Auburn Stadium with 7,290 seats, hosted its first game on November 10, 1939, between the Auburn and Georgia Tech freshmen teams. About one month later, the stadium was dedicated and the first college football game was played against the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
on November 30, 1939 under head coach, Jack Meagher
Jack Meagher
-External links:...
. By the time the stadium was renamed Cliff Hare Stadium in 1949, it had grown to a capacity of 21,500. Shug Jordan became head coach of the Tigers in 1951, and he was still coaching when the stadium was renamed to honor him in 1973, making it the first stadium in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to be named for an active coach.
Throughout its history, Auburn played games against their traditional rivals at neutral sites rather than Jordan–Hare Stadium. This occurred due to the difficulty in traveling to Auburn during the first half of the 20th century and the capacity of other stadiums. These games included Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
(played at Legion Field
Legion Field
Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...
in Birmingham), Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
(played at Legion Field
Legion Field
Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...
in Birmingham or Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
), Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
(played in Birmingham or Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
), and Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
(played at Memorial Stadium in Columbus
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
). As Auburn became more accessible and the stadium expanded in capacity, more games were moved to Jordan–Hare Stadium. The most notable of these matchups occurred on December 2, 1989, when Auburn defeated #2 Alabama in the first Iron Bowl
Iron Bowl
The Iron Bowl is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama and the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University. The series is considered one of the best and most hard-fought rivalries in all of sports...
played at Jordan–Hare.
With the addition of the west upper deck in 1980 and the east upper deck in 1987, the stadium became the largest in the state of Alabama until the 2006 and 2010 expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium
Bryant-Denny Stadium
Bryant–Denny Stadium, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is the home stadium for the University of Alabama football team. The stadium opened in 1929, and was originally named Denny Stadium, in honor of former Alabama president George Hutchenson Denny...
(capacity 101,821) at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. The 2004 stadium expansion extended the east upper deck by an additional section on each end, adding more luxury suites and additional general seating to reach the current capacity of 87,451.
In 1998, artist Michael Taylor was commissioned to paint ten large mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s on the east-side exterior of the stadium. The paintings depicted the greatest players, teams, and moments from Auburn's football history to that date.
http://www.plexico.net/sg/jordanhare/jh_murals.html In 2006, Auburn updated these murals, including images that recognized great moments in Auburn football history up to 2006. http://www.theplainsman.com/front/2006/sep-06/stadium_gets_new_look_murals In 2011, Auburn once again updated the murals, recognizing the greatest coaches, players, and teams up until 2011.
Before the 2007 season
2007 Auburn Tigers football team
The 2007 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Head coach Tommy Tuberville returned for his ninth season at Auburn, the third longest tenure among SEC head coaches in 2007. He was joined by returning offensive coordinator Al...
, a new, $2.9 million, 30 feet (9.1 m) high by 74 feet (22.6 m) wide high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
video display was installed in the south end-zone of Jordan–Hare Stadium. Auburn is the first SEC school to install an HD video display and the second in the NCAA (after Texas' Godzillatron
Godzillatron
"Godzillatron" or "Adzillatron" is the nickname given to the scoreboard at the University of Texas at Austin's Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The official name of the board has not yet been decided; it is simply referred to as the "Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Scoreboard" by the...
).