Davis Wade Stadium: The House that Jackie Built
Davis Wade Stadium was rocking last Saturday night. With the new expanded north endzone, double mega video boards and cowbells clanging it was possibly the loudest any stadium in the state of Mississippi has ever been. 61,000 plus were on hand to watch MSU beat Southern 49-0 in a stadium and atmosphere we should all thank Jackie Sherrill for.
Earlier this summer we looked at all the expansions over time of Scott Field. One of the time periods was 1948-1985 when it held pat at 35,000 capacity. Nearly four decades passed before more seats were added in 1986 with the West side upper deck.
Starkville was not a destination for big football games. The MSU administration decided, instead, to play the Bulldogs biggest games in Jackson, Mississippi. Year after year students were unable to see the games unless they could make the trip south. Only a few games were on campus each fall, and Scott Field remained a lowly stadium in the SEC.
Finally in the early 1980s MSU began to bring some big games back to campus. From 1952 to 1981 there was only one non-Egg Bowl SEC game played at Scott Field with a ranked opponent (Alabama, 1962). From 1982-1988 MSU played 13 ranked SEC teams in Starkville, however, the Bulldogs continued to play at least a two or three games in Jackson each year, including the Egg Bowl.
When Jackie Wayne Sherrill took over as head coach in 1991 he put a stop to playing in Jackson. Jackie put an emphasis on creating a top notch environment at Scott Field and that’s exactly what happened. Starkville was Mississippi State’s only home – and we haven’t played a game in Jackson since.
It took 37 years to expand Scott Field before his arrival, but there was just 15 years between expansions this time. The East side upper deck, sky boxes and club level with the addition of north endzone student bleachers increased capacity by nearly 15,000. A 37% increase by 2003.
Dan Mullen (and Greg Bryne/Scott Stricklin) took the seeds Jackie Sherrill planted and made them grow. While Davis Wade Stadium was only sold out once prior to Mullen’s arrival, it has now been sold out 30 consecutive times. The demand for tickets, enlarged fanbase, growing community of Starkville and winning tradition allowed for another expansion just 13 years after the last one.
Traditions like the Junction have spawned out of increased focus on home games in Starkville. The town has blossomed with the influx of fans coming to town making it the destination instead of Jackson.
Jackie Sherrill’s vision over 20 years ago is why we have what we have at home football games today. He is our winningest football coach all-time, but his strongest legacy may be the tradition he brought to Mississippi State by cementing Starkville as our one and only home.
P.S. – I know that’s not JWS in the graphic, that’s just our banner for MSU history posts every Tuesday morning this fall.