OU to Celebrate 100th Season of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
May 21, 2024 | Football
NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department announced Tuesday it will celebrate the 100th season of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium leading up to and during the 2024 football campaign, with planned events and recognitions that will honor OU's storied gridiron history and highlight the iconic venue's greatest games, moments, players and coaches.
The celebration will kick off Wednesday, May 22, with a 100-day "Stadium Scrapbook" countdown to the Sooners' season opener against Temple the night of Friday, Aug. 30, in Norman. Each day leading up to that contest, OU's football social media accounts will spotlight an interesting fact or a significant moment, performance or record that helped shape the history of one the country's most recognized collegiate stadiums.
"Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is one of college football's greatest cathedrals," said OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione. "It's home to countless historic moments made possible by some of the game's most talented and dedicated coaches and players, and by the most ardent of fans. We're truly excited to honor our iconic stadium by taking a walk down memory lane and reliving its history this summer and fall. It's impossible to celebrate all of the individuals and performances that have helped make the 'Palace' the treasure it is, but we're sure going to feature a lot of them."
Each of OU's seven 2024 home games will feature a different theme, four of them spotlighting the eras of Sooner coaching greats and the others centered on the program's myriad magical stadium moments and memories:
Temple: Barry Switzer Era
Houston: Bud Wilkinson Era
Tulane: Bennie Owen Era
Tennessee: Record Performances
South Carolina: Sooner Magic Moments
Maine: Fan-Favorite Moments
Alabama: Bob Stoops Era
As part of the celebration, OU Athletics will unveil a 100th-year microsite on SoonerSports.com this summer that will feature the stadium's first 99 years and will include fascinating historical photo and video content, as well as compelling written feature stories.
Fans are encouraged to submit their favorite moments in Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium history by emailing gfoms100@ou.edu. Select submissions will be highlighted in-stadium during the Nov. 2 Maine contest and/or on SoonerSports.com. OU faithful should feel welcome to include game photos or video from their stadium seat, or shots of vintage tickets, game programs or other prized memorabilia.
BRIEF STADIUM OVERVIEW
In 1921, OU students started a movement for construction of a student union, and soon the idea had grown to feature a combined football stadium/union. In the original architect's drawings, the north end of the proposed structure was strikingly similar to the present Oklahoma Memorial Union, but the stadium and union were eventually built separately.
The first game played at the current stadium site, called Owen Field and named after former head coach and athletics director Bennie Owen, took place in 1923, before stadium construction got underway. On Oct. 17, 1925, the first contest was played in front of the new 16,000-seat stands on the west side of the field, a 7-0 victory over Drake in which Roy "Goat" Lamb scored the game's only touchdown on a 2-yard run in muddy conditions. Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, named in honor of University personnel who died in World War I, was erected at a cost of approximately $293,000 and dedicated on Nov. 7, 1925.
The stadium's rich heritage has not hindered its evolution, as never-ending growth has been fueled by the football program's overwhelming popularity and success. Almost since its inception, the stadium has been a work in progress, with countless expansions and improvements regularly taking place. Capacity for the "Palace on the Prairie" peaked at 83,489 from 2016-18 following the enclosing of the south end zone stands and addition of premium seating in that area. Due to the widening of stadium aisles and addition of handrails, capacity dropped to its current 80,126 figure prior to the 2019 season.
OU owns a sparkling 418-86-15 (.820) all-time record at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and has faced 94 opponents there. South Carolina and Maine in 2024 will mark the 95th and 96th opponents.
The celebration will kick off Wednesday, May 22, with a 100-day "Stadium Scrapbook" countdown to the Sooners' season opener against Temple the night of Friday, Aug. 30, in Norman. Each day leading up to that contest, OU's football social media accounts will spotlight an interesting fact or a significant moment, performance or record that helped shape the history of one the country's most recognized collegiate stadiums.
"Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is one of college football's greatest cathedrals," said OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione. "It's home to countless historic moments made possible by some of the game's most talented and dedicated coaches and players, and by the most ardent of fans. We're truly excited to honor our iconic stadium by taking a walk down memory lane and reliving its history this summer and fall. It's impossible to celebrate all of the individuals and performances that have helped make the 'Palace' the treasure it is, but we're sure going to feature a lot of them."
Each of OU's seven 2024 home games will feature a different theme, four of them spotlighting the eras of Sooner coaching greats and the others centered on the program's myriad magical stadium moments and memories:
Temple: Barry Switzer Era
Houston: Bud Wilkinson Era
Tulane: Bennie Owen Era
Tennessee: Record Performances
South Carolina: Sooner Magic Moments
Maine: Fan-Favorite Moments
Alabama: Bob Stoops Era
As part of the celebration, OU Athletics will unveil a 100th-year microsite on SoonerSports.com this summer that will feature the stadium's first 99 years and will include fascinating historical photo and video content, as well as compelling written feature stories.
Fans are encouraged to submit their favorite moments in Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium history by emailing gfoms100@ou.edu. Select submissions will be highlighted in-stadium during the Nov. 2 Maine contest and/or on SoonerSports.com. OU faithful should feel welcome to include game photos or video from their stadium seat, or shots of vintage tickets, game programs or other prized memorabilia.
BRIEF STADIUM OVERVIEW
In 1921, OU students started a movement for construction of a student union, and soon the idea had grown to feature a combined football stadium/union. In the original architect's drawings, the north end of the proposed structure was strikingly similar to the present Oklahoma Memorial Union, but the stadium and union were eventually built separately.
The first game played at the current stadium site, called Owen Field and named after former head coach and athletics director Bennie Owen, took place in 1923, before stadium construction got underway. On Oct. 17, 1925, the first contest was played in front of the new 16,000-seat stands on the west side of the field, a 7-0 victory over Drake in which Roy "Goat" Lamb scored the game's only touchdown on a 2-yard run in muddy conditions. Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, named in honor of University personnel who died in World War I, was erected at a cost of approximately $293,000 and dedicated on Nov. 7, 1925.
The stadium's rich heritage has not hindered its evolution, as never-ending growth has been fueled by the football program's overwhelming popularity and success. Almost since its inception, the stadium has been a work in progress, with countless expansions and improvements regularly taking place. Capacity for the "Palace on the Prairie" peaked at 83,489 from 2016-18 following the enclosing of the south end zone stands and addition of premium seating in that area. Due to the widening of stadium aisles and addition of handrails, capacity dropped to its current 80,126 figure prior to the 2019 season.
OU owns a sparkling 418-86-15 (.820) all-time record at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and has faced 94 opponents there. South Carolina and Maine in 2024 will mark the 95th and 96th opponents.