Oxford-University Stadium at Swayze Field is the home of the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment.
...
Rebels
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
team, the 2022 NCAA National Champions, and is located in
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxf ...
. It is named in honor of Tom Swayze, a former Ole Miss baseball player and coach.
The $3.75 million stadium opened on February 19, 1989, with a
double header sweep of
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.
History
1842-1861
The university was founded by the Cumberland ...
. The actual stadium sits on city property off-campus and was built by the City of Oxford, using a 2% Local Tourism Tax on prepared food and alcohol to pay for it.
Features
Right field terrace
The hill beyond the right field wall was equipped with a seating area in 1993 that sits comfortably between the field and eight tennis courts. This has historically been a section for students. Since the 2000 season the area has undergone many improvements. What began as a gathering place for about 100 students has grown into an area of about 1,000 students per game during conference season. This area however is not counted as part of the stadium.
Right field traditions
1.) One of the main right field traditions involves the players themselves. After warmups are completed, each inning the outfielders throw the baseball into the right field student section where students write messages on them and then throw the ball back to the outfielders for warm ups the next inning.
2.) The beer shower: Upon an Ole Miss home run or walk off win, the student section jumps to their feet and throws their beverage into the air.
Left field terrace
For many years there was nothing but trees and a parking lot beyond the left field wall. In 2006, the left field area, known as Oakes Pavilion, was renovated with a new scoreboard equipped with a large video board and the seating areas were upgraded with grills, picnic tables, and a play area for children. The left field area can hold around 1,000 fans and has become one of the more popular areas of the field. It is mainly reserved for the families and non-students.
Stadium amenities
Below the stands are coach's offices, locker rooms, player's lounge, press area, and a workout area for the pitchers. Along the first base line is a hitting complex. In 2006 a large video board was added that supplies fans with replays during the game.
Expansion
In April 2007, Ole Miss announced that their baseball stadium would undergo an $18.5 million expansion. The expansion was mostly completed in time for the 2009 baseball season. The expansion resulted in an increase of the overall number of seats to just over 6,000 and a total capacity exceeding 8,500. The architect for both the original facility and the expansion was Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons. On June 6, 2009, an Ole Miss record 10,323 were present to watch the Super Regional game vs the University of Virginia (UVA won 4–3).
File:Ole Miss new Swayze Field construction.jpg, Swayze Field expansion construction.
File:Ole Miss new Swayze Field 1.jpg, Swayze Field expansion completion.
File:Ole miss panoramic.jpg, Panoramic view of Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field at Ole Miss in 2006.
Attendance
The first Ole Miss game with more than 10,000 fans (10,323) in attendance occurred on June 6, 2009, against Virginia in Super Regional play.
On April 28, 2018, a new attendance record, 12,152, was set on Double Decker Weekend in a game against
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
, which then No.6 Ole Miss won 9–8. This record fell in 2022 during the final game of the Rebels' home series against archrival
Mississippi State
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 Univers ...
, when a crowd of 12,503 saw the Rebels fall 7–6 in 11 innings.
In 2013, the Rebels ranked 3rd among
Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 7,996 per home game.
In 2015, 2016, & 2017, the Rebels ranked 2nd among
Division I baseball programs in per game attendance, averaging 8,028, 8,619,
[http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/baseball_RB/2017/attend.pdf ] & 9,238 per home game, respectively.
Stadium attendance in excess of 11,000
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
This is a list of stadiums that currently serve as the home venue for National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I college baseball teams. Conference affiliations reflect those in the coming 2023 NCAA baseball season. ...
References
{{Mississippi NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox
College baseball venues in the United States
Baseball venues in Mississippi
Buildings and structures in Lafayette County, Mississippi
Ole Miss Rebels baseball
1988 establishments in Mississippi
Sports venues completed in 1988