Scott Stadium
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The Carl Smith Center, Home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. It sits on the University of Virginia's West Grounds, across from first-year dorms on Alderman Road. Constructed in 1931, it is the oldest Division I football stadium in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It occasionally hosts other events, such as concerts for bands that can fill an entire stadium, such as the Rolling Stones (2005) and the Dave Matthews Band (2001). It hosted the Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1977 and 1982.
[edit] Configuration
Known for its classical construction (with features such as the pergola) as well as its unique "grass-seating" area called "The Hill," Scott Stadium is regarded as one of the best places in America to watch a college football game. The stadium, which holds 61,500, is large for a school of just 13,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduates, but it is regularly filled to and even past capacity.
[edit] History
Built as a replacement for the old Lambeth Field or "Colonnades," Scott Stadium bears the name of donor and University Rector Frederic Scott, and held 25,000 spectators at opening. The stadium is considered one of the most beautiful facilities in the nation, and formerly had a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and specifically Monticello Mountain out the south end of the stadium. An artificial turf system was installed in 1974, making impossible a long tradition of a mounted Cavalier riding into the stadium with the football team. David A. Harrison III provided a gift allowing natural grass to be reinstalled in the stadium, and the Cavalier has ridden into Scott every game since 1995. Another more unique feature of Scott Stadium is the Adventures of Cavman, which takes place a few minutes prior to kickoff, on the videoboard. In this computer generated skit, the mascot of the opposing team is causing trouble on the Grounds of UVA, and the Cavalier slays him, then rides to the stadium via the Grounds. After the skit is over, the live Cavalier rides onto the field.
[edit] Stadium Expansion Projects
[edit] 1981
The first expansion to the stadium's capacity came in 1981, when upper decks and grass hill seating allowed 41,000 fans.
[edit] 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. While the dramatic view of the Blue Ridge was lost in this expansion, Scott Stadium remains a sight to behold. The facility's official name, a result of this string of donations, may be the longest for a sports venue in the United States, and possibly the world.
[edit] Traditions and Controversy
Traditionally, males wear coats and ties and females wear sundresses to games, which is also tradition at Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt. Beginning during the 2003 season, however, head coach Al Groh called upon fans to set aside traditional attire for orange clothing. During the 2004 and 2005 seasons, many fans took to wearing orange t-shirts with slogans like "Orange Crush", "Orange Fever", "Al's Idiots" and "Sea of Orange", and abandoned the ties and sundresses altogether. (There are actually two UVa bands present on Grounds: the 230-piece Cavalier Marching Band, led by a professional band director, and the much smaller Virginia Pep Band, led by fellow students, though the latter only performs outside for the tailgating crowd).
The t-shirt movement has not been welcomed by all, though, as ties and sundresses can still be easily spotted at Scott Stadium. Some have compromised by wearing ties with orange dress shirts, while creative ladies have been spotted in orange sundresses. Many students and alumni feel the "Sea of Orange" has been forced on them by Groh without any indication that it translates to results on the field (or an explanation of why ties have not held back Auburn). On the school's facebook site (a popular online social network for college students), approximately 800 students have joined a group opposing the "Sea of Orange." The Cavalier Daily, the University's daily student-published newspaper, weighed in on the debate in its September 1, 2005, lead editorial.[1] The Declaration, an alternative weekly news magazine at the University, also ran a feature story on the debate prior to the 2006 home opener.[2]
[edit] Notable Games
[edit] 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, whereas UVa had gone 0-29 against Clemson prior to the 1990 game, as of 2006 UVa has gone 8-6-1 against Clemson beginning with that 1990 win.
[edit] 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 :07 left. Undefeated Georgia Tech would go on to win the rest of its games to take a share of the National Championship.
[edit] 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 Atlantic Coast Conference (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 goal posts, a feat not since repeated at Scott Stadium.
[edit] November 16, 1996: Virginia 20, #6 North Carolina 17
With Mack Brown's squad poised to clinch a spot in the Bowl Alliance, UVa trailed North Carolina 17-3 in the 4th quarter and the Tar Heels were driving for the knockout blow when Antwan Harris picked off a 3rd 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 :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.
[edit] November 13, 2004: #18 Miami 31, #10 Virginia 21
The stadium's attendance record was set as 63,701 fans saw #18 Miami defeat #10 Virginia 31-21.[3]
[edit] 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.[4]
