By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – I've lost count of the number of times I've made the trips up and down the Tucker Stadium steps. Just like the rest of the Tennessee Tech campus, it's been home for me for 23 years now. And nearly every one of those years, I've spent time in the Tucker Stadium press box.
Whether it was as a student from 2000 to 2005, covering the team at the Cookeville Herald-Citizen from 2006 to 2015, then working as the team's sports information contact from the years since 2016 on, Saturdays (and some random Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons in 2021) have been for Tennessee Tech football.
It's still a little weird to think that as I make the climb up to the press box this season, these concrete stairs will soon be gone, the west side demolished to make way for a much-needed upgrade to Tucker Stadium.
To be fair, Tucker Stadium isn't going anywhere, per se, but the Tucker Stadium as we know it now is.
That's a good thing – change is inherently good. Just take a look around the Tennessee Tech campus and see all of the innovation and growth here. Thinking back to my first days walking onto the Tech campus as a high school freshman in 1996 and I don't even know if I could even recognize the place I first saw.
Tucker Stadium has had its share of refreshes over the years – a new coat of paint here, a new scoreboard there, a new turf at a few points – but, for the most part, the stadium is pretty much the exact same structure as it was when the final blocks were put into place in 1966.
It's actually quite fascinating to look at the picture of the completed Tucker Stadium from the back cover of the 1968 Golden Eagle football media guide. Outside of a different color press box and the lack of the brick surrounding the lower structure, it looks pretty much identical.
There's no question that it's time. In the most recent years, cracks and blemishes are showing more and more. The stadium stairs are starting to wear down. For as long as it could be, Tucker Stadium has been one of the crown jewels of the Tech athletics facilities.
When it was built, Tennessee Tech was celebrating its 50th anniversary. Its student population had doubled to nearly 5,500 students since 1950 and with that came a boom in construction as the University stated to spend an estimated $10 million to $12 million with three new classroom buildings – a math-physics building about to be completed and biology-agriculture and engineering buildings in the works. The Roaden University Center was planned with a $2 million estimate, while the former football stadium space would be turned into dormitories.
To put it into perspective, $12 million in 1966 dollars would be nearly $112 million today. Tennessee Tech was growing, updating with the times.
Included in Dr. Everett Derryberry's construction plan was a new football stadium. The 1966 media guide described it as this: "The stadium, near the intersection of North Dixie Avenue and 12th St., on the northern edge of the campus, will seat 12,000 fans, 4,000 more than the former stadium. The new facility is of concrete and steel construction; there will be 41 rows on one side of the playing field and 20 on the other. A track with an all-weather surface will ring the field. Topping the 41st row on the high side of the stadium will be a modern new press box with two levels, the first for the working press and the top level for broadcasters, cameramen and scouts."
The construction plan is an interesting parallel to what is presently happening on campus as Dr. Phil Oldham has overseen the addition of the Lab Science Commons and Stonecipher Hall, while a new engineering building is currently going up.
Oh, the stories Tucker Stadium could tell – I know from my years working with such Tech stalwarts as broadcaster Roger Ealey, PA extraordinaire and radio legend Philip Gibbons, Hall of Fame SID Rob Schabert, and even late superfan Hoke White (among many others in a list too long to mention) many of the Golden Eagle legends and highlights, but the stadium was there long before all of our involvements.
From Larry Schreiber to Jim Youngblood, the 1972 championship squad that was just a step away from a potential NCAA College Division title in the Grantland Rice Bowl all the way to the Golden Eagles who step foot on the field today, there have been a lot of people suit up in the Purple and Gold and play in the stadium.
For the last 15 or so years, the banner "Champions Are Made Here" stands tall on the west side. While the colors have faded to time and the elements, the spirit has not. As the venue was the host for the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl, countless student-athletes raised their respective championship trophies. The Golden Eagles themselves won three of their 10 Ohio Valley Conference championships and their first appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs while housed in the venue.
In the nearly 60 years of the facility's current tenure, there have been tweaks made. Artificial turf was installed in 1970, then again in 1980, 1994, 2007 and 2021 with the current Shaw Legion Pro system. The east grandstands were expanded and a President's Box added in 1971. In 2008, new lights were added, then the press box was given a refresh in 2009. The 81-foot by 31-foot Daktronics videoboard was added in 2018.
The west side of the stadium has lived a long life and still has much more to offer before the season concludes. But it is time for a change.
Before Austin Peay left the Ohio Valley Conference, it embarked on a similar construction effort as it renovated Governors Stadium into what stands now as Fortera Stadium. Southeast Missouri has constructed a new side to Houck Field to complete the first phase of its renovation with more to come. UT Martin built a new stadium side from the ground up to completely revitalize Hardy Graham Stadium.
The revised stadium is important to bring a spark to Tennessee Tech football, get community excitement, raise recruiting interest and elicit pride in the program. While it may look like Tech is keeping up with the Joneses, it's trying not to get left behind. It's an investment into the future of the program, the University and the community – after all, it's not just Tech's games that are played in the facility. It's a venue that can host other teams in the community, concerts and large-scale events that will enhance and enrich Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland. The sky is truly the limit.
I've never put on the pads nor played a down for the Golden Eagles, but Tech football has been a part of my life for nearly 25 years and it means a lot to me. I still remember sitting in the stands for the triple-overtime victory over Eastern Kentucky on a visit to campus during my high school days. It stuck with me then and stays with me now.
I can only imagine what the program means to the players who did suit up and run out of that tunnel, ready to stand up for the University and give it their all. To see an investment into the countless hours and literal blood, sweat and tears they devoted into the program has to be just as important.
So as we celebrate the final season of Tucker Stadium as we now know it, it's not a solemn goodbye. There have been a lot of tremendous memories made here and still many more to be made before the 2023 season comes to a close.
As we celebrate this final run in this iteration of Tucker Stadium, it's a time to reflect on the great moments as we anticipate the future.
Let us know what some of your favorite memories of Tucker Stadium are – we'll include some of the responses throughout the season. Follow the link here.
