Vaught–Hemingway Stadium

“The Vaught”
Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Location in Mississippi Show map of Mississippi Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Full name	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field
Former names	Hemingway Stadium (1915–1982)
Location	6 All American Drive Oxford, Mississippi 38655
Coordinates	34°21′43″N89°32′3″W / 34.36194°N 89.53417°W /34.36194; -89.53417
Owner	University of Mississippi
Operator	University of Mississippi
Capacity	24,000 (1915–1949) 34,500 (1950–1972) 37,500 (1973–1974) 35,000 (1975–1979) 42,500 (1980–1984) 41,000 (1985–1987) 42,577 (1988–1997) 50,577 (1998–2001) 60,580 (2002–2014) 59,347 (2015)[1] 64,038 (2016–present)[2]
Record attendance	68,138 November 15, 2025 vs.Florida
Surface	Grass (2016–present) FieldTurf (2009–2015) AstroPlay (2003–2008) Grass (1984–2002) AstroTurf (1970–1983) Grass (1915–1969)
Scoreboard	Daktronics 49' by 110'HDJumbotron
Construction
Broke ground	1912
Built	1912–1915
Opened	October 1, 1915
Renovated	1941, 1980, 2002, 2015, 2016
Expanded	1950, 1980, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2016
Construction cost	$96,000[3] ($2.98 million in 2024 dollars[4]) $25 million (renovation)
Tenants
Ole Miss Rebels (NCAA) (1915–present)

Vaught–Hemingway Stadium is an outdoor athleticstadium located inUniversity, Mississippi, United States (although it has anOxford address). The stadium serves as the home for theUniversity of MississippiRebelscollege football team. The stadium is named afterJohnny Vaught and JudgeWilliam Hemingway.

Building of the stadium started in 1915 as a federally sponsored project. A series of expansions and renovations have gradually expanded the stadium and modernized its amenities, allowing the Rebels to play all of their home games on campus.^{[citation needed]} Prior to the early to mid-1990s, Ole Miss would play many of its big rivalry games, including the heated feuds withLSU,Mississippi State,Tennessee, andArkansas atMississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in the state capital ofJackson, located approximately 170 miles (270 km) south of the Ole Miss campus; and to a lesser extent, theLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium inMemphis.^{[citation needed]} The Ole Miss-MSU game, commonly referred to as theEgg Bowl, was held in Jackson every year from 1973 through 1990 before returning to a home-and-home series.^[5]

When the stadium opened, it was named for Judge William Hemingway, a professor oflaw and chairman of the university's committee on athletics.^[6] October 12, 1982 saw the addition of legendary Ole Miss coachJohnny Vaught's name to the stadium.^[6] September 5, 1998 saw the field named for longtime supporter Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth, bringing the current official title to "Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field".^[6]

In 2002, construction crews replaced the south end zone bleachers with a rounded bowl, adding luxury boxes and covered club seating in an upper deck, as well as additional general admission seating for students and season ticket holders; these renovations expandedseating capacity by nearly 10,000, giving Vaught–Hemingway a capacity of 60,580.

In August 2011, the school announced Forward Together, a new capital campaign that would seek to build a new basketball arena and expand the stadium. Phase 1 of the campaign includes adding 30 luxury suites and 770 club level seats. In addition new stadium lights, sound system, and two new video boards will be added to the current south end zone. Phase 2 calls for the stadium's capacity to increase giving it the ability to hold 64,038 fans. This would be done through closing off the north endzone. In addition, a plaza would be built outside the north endzone to serve as a "front door" to the stadium and celebrate Ole Miss tradition and history.^[7] In the summer of 2012, Ole Miss announced that they had received a million-dollar gift that was to be used in the Forward Together capital campaign.^[7] The school announced, in honor of the gift, that they would start a new tradition and include a bell tower in the north endzone expansion that would be rung before Ole Miss games after Ole Miss victories.^[8]

The most recent expansion, completed in 2016, completed the stadium's bowl shape and added 3,458 additional seats. This brought the total capacity to 64,038, making Vaught–Hemingway the largest stadium in the state.

Other notable upgrades include the installation of lights in 1990, the addition of aJumbotron in 1997, and the replacement of the natural grass turf, which had become increasingly hard to maintain, with anAstroPlay artificial turf surface in 2003.^[7] Ironically, the stadium had been among the first in the nation to switch from a natural grass playing surface to artificial turf in 1970, and then one of the first of those stadiums to switch back to natural grass in 1984.^[7] The field surface was again changed in 2009 from AstroPlay toFieldTurf, making Ole Miss the first team in the Southeastern Conference to play their home games on the surface.^[9] In 2016, the stadium's field surface was changed back to natural grass for the third time.

Rankings are from theAP Poll.

In 2004, a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m²) indoor practice facility and locker room facility was opened. It is linked to the existing stadium via a secured tunnel.

For the 2008 season, Vaught–Hemingway Stadium got a newHDDaktronics video board to replace theSonyJumbotron that had been installed in the north endzone in 1997. The new board is the 8th largest scoreboard in NCAA college football (fourth in the Southeastern conference), measuring at 48 ft (15 m) by 84 ft (26 m) (4,032 square feet). Ole Miss' board cost $6 million, all of which was paid for byTelesouth Communications as part of a multimedia rights agreement with the university.^[10]

In 2016, Vaught–Hemingway upgraded to three new 13mm pixel HD video boards by Daktronics. The north board measures 48 ft (14 m) by 104.5 ft (31 m) (5,016 square feet), and the two south boards measure 30 ft (9 m) by 49 ft (15 m) (1,470 square feet).^[11]

• The Grove
• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

• Video: Vaught Hemingway expansion for 2016
• Vaught–Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field at olemisssports.comArchived April 20, 2017, at theWayback Machine
• Video: Virtual tour of Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss
• VaughtHemingway.com - seating charts, photos, & history
• Daktronics Ole Miss page

• College football venues in Mississippi
• 1915 establishments in Mississippi
• Ole Miss Rebels football
• Buildings and structures in Oxford, Mississippi
• Sports venues completed in 1915

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