Faurot Field

Memorial Stadium/ Faurot Field
The Zou
Location	Stadium Blvd Columbia, MO 65211
Broke ground	1926
Opened	October 2, 1926
Owner	University of Missouri
Operator	University of Missouri
Surface	FieldTurf
Former names	Memorial Stadium (1926-1972)
Tenants	Missouri Tigers (football)
Capacity	68,349 (but can accommodate more than 70,000)

Faurot Field, also known as Memorial Stadium or The Zou, is a stadium in Columbia, Missouri. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the University of Missouri Tigers. The stadium itself is known as Memorial Stadium. In 1972, the playing surface was named Faurot Field in honor of longtime coach Don Faurot. During the offseason, soccer goals are set up in the end zones and it is used for intramural matches. It also hosts the annual "Providence Bowl" game between Hickman and Rock Bridge high schools (so named because both schools are located on Providence Road in Columbia, and Faurot is roughly equidistant between the two) and in the past has been home to the MSHSAA football championships, now held in St Louis. The stadium is a typical horseshoe-shaped stadium, with seating added on in the "open" endzone. The horseshoe is completed by a grass berm in the curved end, which is used for general admission on game days. The berm is famous for the giant block "M" made of painted white stones located behind the endzone. This distinctive feature has not been immune to pranks, such as enterprising Nebraska or Kansas fans attempting to change the "M" to an "N" or a "K", but groundskeepers and students have in the past protected what may be the stadium's best-known landmark. One of the traditions of the football team is that seniors, after playing their final home game, take a rock from the "M" as a souvenir. It is also traditionally whitewashed every year by incoming freshmen during welcoming activities. There is a short buffer zone of shrubs placed between the field and the stands around the entire length of the horseshoe, as well as a paved road (taking the place of the track, removed in the mid-1990s).

History

Fund raising began in 1921 for a "Memorial Union" and a "Memorial Stadium" to be constructed at the University. The names of the two projects were a tribute to Mizzou alumni who lost their lives during World War I. Ground was broken on the site of the future stadium in December of 1925. Original plans called for the stadium to seat 25,000, with proposed stages of expansion in capacity to 35,000, 55,000, 75,000 and 98,875. According to legend, a rock crusher and truck were buried during initial blasting, and they still remain buried under the field. The first game, against Tulane in 1926, was marred by rainstorms that washed out a bridge into Columbia coming from the western side of Missouri. While the game sold out, the field could not be sodded due to the wet conditions. Therefore, a surface of sawdust and tree bark was used, and "the Tigers and Green Wave played to a scoreless, mudpie tie", in the words of sportswriter Bob Broeg. Grass would be installed thenafter until the 1980s. In recent years, several major renovations have taken place at Faurot Field. The old OmniTurf surface (infamous to Tigers fans as the "lousy field" on which The Fifth Down Game (1990) was played) was removed in 1996 and replaced with natural grass, which itself would give way to FieldTurf in 2003. 1999 saw the installation of a video board in the north ("M") end and a refurbishment of the concourses, with new signage and expanded concessions. In 2001, the old press box was torn down and replaced with a 15-story building containing state-of-the-art facilities for the coaches and media, as well as several executive suites, hundreds of premium club seats and a restaurant. In 2005, the south end's antiquated auxiliary scoreboards were replaced with new ones, as well as a second high-definition video monitor. Future improvements that are expected by fans include a replacement to the north end scoreboard and sound system, and a possible reconstruction of the south end to more fully enclose the stadium, adding capacity and facilities including bathrooms and permanent food outlets. However, this latter project may be hampered by the fact that the south end is very close to the water table, and that any added construction will run into problems associated with this.

Record Crowds

Faurot Field before Mizzou vs. Nebraska, October 6, 2007

The stadium officially holds 68,349 people. The record attendance for Faurot Field is 75,298 when Missouri hosted Penn State on October 4, 1980. All-Time Largest Crowds

1. 75,298, vs. Penn State, Oct. 4, 1980
2. 75,136, vs. Texas, Sept. 29, 1979
3. 74,575, vs. Nebraska, Nov. 3, 1979
4. 73,655, vs. Alabama, Sept. 16, 1978
5. 72,348, vs. Nebraska, Oct. 15, 1983
6. 72,333, vs. Colorado, Oct. 18, 1980
7. 72,001, vs. Nebraska, Oct. 24, 1981
8. 71,291, vs. Oklahoma, Nov. 17, 1979
9. 71,096, vs. Colorado, Oct. 28, 1978
10. 70,915, vs. Notre Dame, Sept. 26, 1984

Largest Crowds Since 1995 (when seating was reduced to current capacity)

1. 70,049, vs. Nebraska, Oct. 6, 2007
2. 68,349, vs. Nebraska, Oct. 11, 2003
3. 68,174, vs. Nebraska, Sept. 25, 1999
4. 68,174, vs. Kansas State, Nov. 21, 1998
5. 66,846, vs. Nebraska, Nov. 8, 1997
6. 64,945, vs. Texas A&M, Nov. 10, 2007
7. 64,657, vs. Kansas State, Oct. 21, 2006
8. 64,204, vs. Nebraska, Sept. 29, 2001
9. 63,396, vs. Texas Tech, Oct. 20, 2007
10. 62,045, vs. Oklahoma, Oct. 28, 2006
11. 61,794, vs. Kansas, Oct. 14, 2000
12. 61,586, vs. Oklahoma, Oct. 17, 1998

External links

• History of Fauout Field
• Faurot Field - MUTigers.com

Coordinates: 38°56′09.0″N, 92°19′59.5″W