Stadiums ?

[NEPA]

Who has the best football facilities in the SoCon?

[FUBeAR]

Who has the best football facilities in the SoCon?

Football facilities includes locker rooms, meeting rooms, weight room, training room, etc. + the stadium

So, 2 different questions -probably best, for thread participation to focus on Staidum / Game Day experience as most of us haven’t really seen the full Football Facilities of other SoCon schools, if we’ve even seen FU’s.

Personally - I can’t really answer this question because I love going to them all. Well, I haven’t been to ETSU’s new stadium yet, but it looks cool; so I’m sure I would like it as well.

My Sammy friends will be mad at me, but I think Samford is the worst overall GameDay experience & stadium in the SoCon. The campus is very nice, but the stadium is not and the tailgating areas, except for their quad - a scaled down version of The Grove @ Ole Miss - are mostly meh. Just harder to find the highlights there, for me, as a visiting fan, as I can at all other SoCon venues.

[apaladin]

Agree, Sammy has the worst Stadium by far. Chattanooga is prolly the best overall. FU is in the top 3. WCU is doing a huge upgrade to their stadium.

[FUBeAR]

Well, Woffy’s stadium sucks as bad as Sammy’s...or worse, but tailgating there can be very nice & the peeps ‘guarding’ the gate on the visitor’s side are not very attentive, which helps an intelligent & resourceful fan overcome the crappy concessions over there and no availability of adult beverages in the stadium.

[JohnKX512]

I like Chattanooga's stadium a lot. Good location too with the market right next to it.

KB at App State was a really cool location and I always enjoyed tailgating. The visitor side used to be crap and I despise tracks on football fields, but now with their expansions, that place is on par with many power 5 stadiums.

Hagood is crap.

[gofurman]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

[The Jackal]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

Mercer has a nice facility. It has the benefit of being newer, of course, but they have an impressive field house that models the rest of the University architecture. Furman's field house looks, well, like it was built in 1981. Mercer's venue is how I think Furman's venue would probably look if it was built 30 years later.

One small quibble with Mercer (again, I'm an alum), is that their stadium is pretty "commercial." The end zone is lined with signs for the local cable company. The stadium is named after a car dealership. Corporate names on college football stadiums just has always felt weird to me.

[FUBeAR]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

Woffy’s stadium is a heaping piece of crap, if full or empty. My HS stadium in NC (not a HS Football hotbed) In the 70’s was better than Woffy’s stadium now.

VMI beat CIT, Chatt, Sammy, and ETSU last season. Lost to Furman, Woffy, Mercer, and WCU (huh?) Seems pretty competitive (in the SoCon) to me. Could/Should have beaten WCU and finished 5-3, ahead of Chatt due to H2H score & finished 3rd in SoCon.

VMI’s stadium is crappy too, but the Tailgating on the Parade Ground, and the surrounding area, plus military pageantry male up for the stadium.

[gofurman]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

Woffy’s stadium is a heaping piece of crap, if full or empty. My HS stadium in NC (not a HS Football hotbed) In the 70’s was better than Woffy’s stadium now.

VMI beat CIT, Chatt, Sammy, and ETSU last season. Lost to Furman, Woffy, Mercer, and WCU (huh?) Seems pretty competitive (in the SoCon) to me. Could/Should have beaten WCU and finished 5-3, ahead of Chatt due to H2H score & finished 3rd in SoCon.

VMI’s stadium is crappy too, but the Tailgating on the Parade Ground, and the surrounding area, plus military pageantry male up for the stadium.

"VMI beat CIT, Chatt, Sammy, and ETSU last season." - but on a 20-year scale VMI is not competitive. they aren't. One year does not a trend make. They have to have the worst overall win pct in the SoCon I would think.

"My HS stadium in NC (not a HS Football hotbed) In the 70’s was better than Woffy’s stadium now"
As to Woffy I went to a BIG Football HS at Sumter High (2700 kids) - NFL players etc (Wally RIchardson QB for Ravens, Penn State) (Freddie Solomon 49ers) (Cleveland Pinkney) on and on with tons of FBS players who play at Clemson/USC etc all the time.. Sumter HS and our stadium are nothing as nice as Wofford. Not close. bleachers w cheap nachos are the same but the main building/structure is not even close. Ya'll must have had some serious money to play in a stadium nicer than that. Recall super-power Spartanburg shared facilities w Wofford.. and Spartanburg (Doc Davis) was the pinnacle of football at the time. How did your small school have such a nice place?

Freddie Solomon: "SUMTER, SC (WIS) - The man many regard as South Carolina's best high school football player ever has passed away. Sumter native Freddie Solomon died Monday afternoon in Tampa, Florida. He was 59 years old. He had been battling colon and liver cancer the past 9 months."
https://www.wistv.com/story/16927619/sc ... ies-at-59/

[JohnKX512]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

Mercer has a nice facility. It has the benefit of being newer, of course, but they have an impressive field house that models the rest of the University architecture. Furman's field house looks, well, like it was built in 1981. Mercer's venue is how I think Furman's venue would probably look if it was built 30 years later.

One small quibble with Mercer (again, I'm an alum), is that their stadium is pretty "commercial." The end zone is lined with signs for the local cable company. The stadium is named after a car dealership. Corporate names on college football stadiums just has always felt weird to me.

Man, I agree about our field house. Can we just paint it white and purple at least? or cover it with some spackle?

I rank SoCon:

1. Chat - Location and Quality
2. FU - Location and Quality
3. Mercer - Quality *
4. Wofford - Quality but Jerry's disney world
5. ETSU - Newer and respectable *
6. VMI - Location and respectable *
7. WCU - Dissapointing
8. Citadel - Waste of tax money and hot and humid and disney world fake
9. Samford - High School

* I haven't been to in person

I would probably drop FU down to 5 or 6 if we had not done the improvements 2014

[FUBeAR]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

Woffy’s stadium is a heaping piece of crap, if full or empty. My HS stadium in NC (not a HS Football hotbed) In the 70’s was better than Woffy’s stadium now.

VMI beat CIT, Chatt, Sammy, and ETSU last season. Lost to Furman, Woffy, Mercer, and WCU (huh?) Seems pretty competitive (in the SoCon) to me. Could/Should have beaten WCU and finished 5-3, ahead of Chatt due to H2H score & finished 3rd in SoCon.

VMI’s stadium is crappy too, but the Tailgating on the Parade Ground, and the surrounding area, plus military pageantry male up for the stadium.

"VMI beat CIT, Chatt, Sammy, and ETSU last season." - but on a 20-year scale VMI is not competitive. they aren't. One year does not a trend make. They have to have the worst overall win pct in the SoCon I would think.

"My HS stadium in NC (not a HS Football hotbed) In the 70’s was better than Woffy’s stadium now"
As to Woffy I went to a BIG Football HS at Sumter High (2700 kids) - NFL players etc (Wally RIchardson QB for Ravens, Penn State) (Freddie Solomon 49ers) (Cleveland Pinkney) on and on with tons of FBS players who play at Clemson/USC etc all the time.. Sumter HS and our stadium are nothing as nice as Wofford. Not close. bleachers w cheap nachos are the same but the main building/structure is not even close. Ya'll must have had some serious money to play in a stadium nicer than that. Recall super-power Spartanburg shared facilities w Wofford.. and Spartanburg (Doc Davis) was the pinnacle of football at the time. How did your small school have such a nice place?

Freddie Solomon: "SUMTER, SC (WIS) - The man many regard as South Carolina's best high school football player ever has passed away. Sumter native Freddie Solomon died Monday afternoon in Tampa, Florida. He was 59 years old. He had been battling colon and liver cancer the past 9 months."
https://www.wistv.com/story/16927619/sc ... ies-at-59/

I’m not sure how Sumter HS Stadium sucking makes Woffy’s stadium suck any less. There are 1000’s of HS stadiums that suck. The point is there are also many HS stadiums, not just FUBeAR’s, which really wasn’t all that great, that are better than Woffy’s.

[The Jackal]

So Chatt at top?
Mercer top 3 ? I hear they did a good job - thoughts?
FU top 3 perhaps?
Sammy consistently worst?

I notice the comment on Wofford - lack of fans hurts what we see but to FUBeARs point if you went to practice facilities I think they had a good start w the Jerry Richardson money. Panther Palace as they called it. That had to help recruiting.

Never been to VMI but it doesn't seem to matter as to how good they are. They just aren't competitive.

Mercer has a nice facility. It has the benefit of being newer, of course, but they have an impressive field house that models the rest of the University architecture. Furman's field house looks, well, like it was built in 1981. Mercer's venue is how I think Furman's venue would probably look if it was built 30 years later.

One small quibble with Mercer (again, I'm an alum), is that their stadium is pretty "commercial." The end zone is lined with signs for the local cable company. The stadium is named after a car dealership. Corporate names on college football stadiums just has always felt weird to me.

Man, I agree about our field house. Can we just paint it white and purple at least? or cover it with some spackle?

I rank SoCon:

1. Chat - Location and Quality
2. FU - Location and Quality
3. Mercer - Quality *
4. Wofford - Quality but Jerry's disney world
5. ETSU - Newer and respectable *
6. VMI - Location and respectable *
7. WCU - Dissapointing
8. Citadel - Waste of tax money and hot and humid and disney world fake
9. Samford - High School

* I haven't been to in person

I would probably drop FU down to 5 or 6 if we had not done the improvements 2014

My beefs with Samford goes beyond their high school stadium, but there are many things that drive me nuts about their football program:

1. Color scheme - Samford cannot make up its mind about whether it is a blue team, a red team, or a blue and red team. It's the Texas Rangers of SoCon football.

2. Logo Usage - You go to a Samford home game, and you can see a half dozen or more varieties of logos. They change logos as frequently as any team I can remember at the FCS level, and they aren't doing it to be "hip and trendy." Its like they literally cannot decide on a logo and just keep trying out new ones. There's the new bulldog, the old bulldog, the "SU", the "Sam U", and a variety of word marks and fonts. It's a cacophony of aesthetics.

3. The home and road uniforms are different. Maybe this is common, but how many teams use different styles for their uniforms that aren't essentially the same style? The home is now a simple "Penn State" look with blue, white, and gray (gray?). The road unit incorporate red outlines, have shoulder stripes, different word marking, etc.

From what I can tell, Samford announced new uniforms last season, but only updated their home uniforms, pants, and helmet. They didn't modify their road jerseys.

Road:

Home:

[Flagman]

Agree, Sammy has the worst Stadium by far. Chattanooga is prolly the best overall. FU is in the top 3. WCU is doing a huge upgrade to their stadium.

What day is the implosion?

[Flagman]

Comments, in no particular order.

1. Chat - Easy in and out. Parking on “visitor” side is filled with frat parties, so not desirable for relaxed tailgating.
2. FU - Obviously the field house could use a makeover.
3. Mercer - Newness has advantages. Parking is ok as long as you get there early.
4. Wofford - Too bad they didn’t get Jerry’s money when they built the stadium. The basketball arena caused a loss of parking spaces.
5. ETSU - Nice. Parking is about a half mile from the stadium with no shuttle or reasonable handicapped parking near the stadium.
6. VMI - Nothing nice can be said about this place.
7. WCU - Or this one.
8. Citadel - Maybe when they finish the renovation of the visitors side, it’ll move up the list. Parking also far from the stadium unless you’re a bellhop.
9. Samford - Get there early and you can park 25 yards from the gate. Visitors dress in the gym (up about 50-75 steps and 50 yards from the field (uphill). Nice looking field house only 3 feet from the back line of the end zone.

[FUBeAR]

Comments, in no particular order.

1. Chat - Easy in and out. Parking on “visitor” side is filled with frat parties, so not desirable for relaxed tailgating.
2. FU - Obviously the field house could use a makeover.
3. Mercer - Newness has advantages. Parking is ok as long as you get there early.
4. Wofford - Too bad they didn’t get Jerry’s money when they built the stadium. The basketball arena caused a loss of parking spaces.
5. ETSU - Nice. Parking is about a half mile from the stadium with no shuttle or reasonable handicapped parking near the stadium.
6. VMI - Nothing nice can be said about this place.
7. WCU - Or this one.
8. Citadel - Maybe when they finish the renovation of the visitors side, it’ll move up the list. Parking also far from the stadium unless you’re a bellhop.
9. Samford - Get there early and you can park 25 yards from the gate. Visitors dress in the gym (up about 50-75 steps and 50 yards from the field (uphill). Nice looking field house only 3 feet from the back line of the end zone.

Flag, have you ever tailgated on the VMI Parade Ground, watched the Sat. AM parade, & walked thru campus on the way to the stadium, reading the monuments & statue plaques (I guess they are still standing) as you go?

FUBeAR really enjoyed this immensely in his most recent trip to Lex. Also, downtown Lex (walking distance from the stadium) has several nice / cool restaurants & pubs. Didn’t stay in one, but I think there are some nice B&B’s downtown also. And, of course, the surrounding VA mountains / foothills are quite nice, topographically speaking. Yeah - the stadium, built during the War of 1812, I think, sux...but, overall, I think the experience there is very nice.