Scott Stadium is a stadium located in
Charlottesville, Virginia. It is the home of the
Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's Grounds, east of
Hereford College
Hereford College is a self-governed residential college at the University of Virginia.
Originally consisting of five dorms within one complex, the residential college has since been reduced to two dorms: Norris House and Whyburn House. Thus, on ...
and first-year dorms on Alderman Road but west of
Brown College and
the Lawn
The Lawn, a part of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The Lawn and its surrounding buildings, designed by Jefferson, dem ...
. Constructed in 1931, it is the oldest active
FBS football stadium in Virginia.
It also hosts other events, such as concerts for bands that can fill an entire stadium, such as the
Dave Matthews Band in 2001, the
Rolling Stones in 2005, and
U2 in 2009. The
Virginia High School League
The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the principal sanctioning organization for interscholastic athletic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VHSL first sponsored debate and also continues to sponsor sta ...
held its Group AAA Division 5 and 6 football state championship games at the stadium until 2015. The facility has also hosted the Division I
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1977 and 1982 and the ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament in 2008.
History
Built as a replacement for the old
Lambeth Field
Lambeth Field or "The Colonnades" was a college football, baseball, and track stadium for the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas J ...
or "Colonnades," Scott Stadium bears the name of donor and University Rector Frederic Scott, and held 25,000 spectators at opening. The stadium had a view of the
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virg ...
and specifically
Monticello Mountain out the south end of the stadium. An artificial turf system was installed in 1974, making the long tradition of a mounted Cavalier riding into the stadium with the football team impossible. David A. Harrison III provided a gift allowing natural grass to be reinstalled in the stadium, and the Cavalier has ridden into Scott Stadium every game since 1995 accompanied by orange and blue fireworks.
Top attendance records
Stadium expansion projects
1981
The first expansion to the stadium's capacity came in 1981, when upper decks and grass hill seating allowed 40,000 fans.
2000
Carl Smith's donations helped make the most recent contributions to Scott Stadium in 2000, filling in the upper deck and south end to allow 20,000 additional fans, and installing the pergola, state-of-the-art lighting and gigantic audio/visual tower known as "Hoo-Vision," as well as a new lighting system placed on towers with "V's" built in. The facility's official name is a result of this string of donations.
2009
Scott Stadium received a new scoreboard and a larger video screen, Hoo Vision.
Traditions
Scott Stadium where its scoreboard in 2007
Traditionally, men wear coats and ties and women wear
sundresses to games, which is also tradition at
Clemson,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
,
Auburn,
Georgia, and
Ole Miss. Beginning during the 2003 season, however, head coach
Al Groh called upon fans to set aside traditional attire for orange clothing.
The T-shirt movement has been welcomed by many, but ties and sundresses can still be easily spotted at Scott Stadium among students and alumni. Some have compromised by wearing ties with orange dress shirts or orange sundresses. ''
The Cavalier Daily'', the University's daily student-published newspaper, weighed in on the debate in its September 1, 2005, lead editorial.
''The Declaration'', an alternative weekly news magazine at the University, also ran a feature story on the debate prior to the 2006 home opener.
Notable games
September 8, 1990: #14 Virginia 20, #9 Clemson 7
UVa entered this game with an 0–29 record against Clemson. The win was Virginia's first-ever victory over an opponent ranked in the top ten. Both goalposts came down when the fans stormed the field; the first actually fell with 48 seconds still on the clock. The win proved to be something of a watershed in UVA football history in that it set the stage for the 1990 squad to begin the season 7–0, rising to #1 in the polls for the first time. In addition, in contrast to Virginia's historical futility against Clemson prior to the 1990 game, as of 2013 UVA has beaten Clemson eight times (and tied once) since that 1990 win, although since 2004 the schools no longer play every year due to the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...
's expansion.
November 3, 1990: #16 Georgia Tech 41, #1 Virginia 38
The Yellow Jackets ended Virginia's three-week reign at #1 in the polls as they overcame a two-touchdown halftime deficit to win on Scott Sisson's 37-yard
field goal with 0:07 left. Undefeated Georgia Tech would go on to win the rest of its games to take a share of the National Championship.
November 2, 1995: #24 Virginia 33, #2 Florida State 28
This nationally-televised contest was the first Thursday night game played at Scott Stadium and marked Florida State's first loss in an ACC game (after winning its first 29). In arguably the greatest victory in Virginia football history, FSU running back
Warrick Dunn was stopped inches from the south end zone goal line after taking a direct snap on the game's final play. Fans stormed the field and brought down both goalposts, a feat not since repeated at Scott Stadium.
November 16, 1996: Virginia 20, #6 North Carolina 17
With
Mack Brown's squad poised to clinch a spot in the
Bowl Alliance
The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games (specifically the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls) for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game matchup ...
, UVA trailed North Carolina 17–3 in the fourth quarter and the Tar Heels were driving for the knockout blow when Antwan Harris picked off a third-down pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. Following quarterback Tim Sherman's touchdown scramble on the Hoos' next drive, kicker Rafael Garcia hit the game-winning 32-yard field goal with 0:39 left. In this installment of the
South's Oldest Rivalry, Virginia extended North Carolina's winless drought in Scott Stadium to 15 years with the 20–17 upset.
October 15, 2005: Virginia 26, #4 Florida State 21
Ten seasons after the 33–28 milestone, Virginia's 1995 ACC Co-Championship squad was honored in a halftime ceremony. UVA went on to win in a 26–21 upset for its first victory over FSU since the 1995 game. Quarterback
Marques Hagans
Marques Hagans (born December 29, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.
Hagans was also a member of the Kansas C ...
threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and Connor Hughes kicked four field goals in the victory.
Following the game a large part of the crowd
stormed the field, with some fans climbing the goalposts. The celebration was marred, however, by the fact that 12 people were injured in the stampede accompanying the rush to the field.
November 29, 2019: Virginia 39, #24 Virginia Tech 30
The Cavaliers entered the
Commonwealth Cup looking to snap a 15-year losing streak versus the Hokies, led by star quarterback
Bryce Perkins
Bryce Perkins (born December 20, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State, Arizona Western, and Virginia before signing with the Los A ...
. In front of a crowd of 52,619, UVA went on to win in a 39–30 upset for its first victory against the Hokies since 2003. Kicker Brian Delaney made both of his attempted field goals, notching a 48-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Perkins passed for 311 yards and rushed for 164 in the historic victory. By defeating Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers won the ACC Coastal Division and secured a spot in the ACC Championship against the Clemson Tigers.
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
College football venues
Buildings of the University of Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football
American football venues in Virginia
College lacrosse venues in the United States
Lacrosse venues in the United States
NCAA Men's Division I Lacrosse Championship venues
Tourist attractions in Charlottesville, Virginia
1931 establishments in Virginia
Sports venues completed in 1931