History
The stadium hosted its first game on September 25, 1965, with UMass beating American International College, 41-0. The stadium was officially dedicated on October 16, 1965, when UMass defeated Rhode Island 30-7 in a homecoming contest. The most recent sellout at the stadium was on December 2, 2006 with UMass defeating New Hampshire, 24-17. The stadium is also the site of UMass Amherst graduation ceremonies, and hosted the 1987 NCAA women’s soccer championship. On April 10, 2009, an Amherst resident fell from the stadium in what police believe was a suicide.
However, the football team has left McGuirk Stadium after the 2011 season. For several years, UMass had considered making a move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). McGuirk Stadium's current capacity is only modestly above the NCAA's requirement of 15,000 average attendance for FBS membership. This would require that UMass expand McGuirk Stadium's seating capacity, build a new facility, or move to a larger stadium in the region.
Read more about this topic: Warren Mc Guirk Alumni Stadium
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)