McNaspy Stadium
McNaspy Stadium was a 4,500 seat stadium built on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then called Southwestern Louisiana Institute) in 1940.[1] The stadium was located to the southwest of Earl K. Long Gymnasium, which had been built the previous year, and consisted of a large home grandstand on the north side and bleachers on the south, with a cinder track surrounded by hedges in the end zones. The field was oriented in a northeast-southwest direction, mirroring the street grid of the rest of the campus. It was named for the first athletic director and football coach at the university, Clement "C. J" McNaspy. The Camellia Bowl was held there in 1948.
Replaced by a newer facility called Cajun Field, the stadium was demolished in 2000 to make room for Oliver Hall, named after James R. Oliver, who created the computer science department at Louisiana-Lafayette. Oliver Hall houses the university's computer science department. The original dirt track that encircled McNaspy Field partially remains as a reminder of this university landmark.
The stadium was used by the university's men's soccer team until the mid-1980s. It was also used by the Pride of Acadiana for practice while a new parking garage was built on Hamilton Field. The band has since returned to a reconfigured Hamilton Field. Recently, trees were planted around the former football field, marking one of the first steps in creating an additional quadrangle there.
References
- "Buildings 1920–1960, SLI". louisiana.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-09.