Project One Hundred Nineteen

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-08-29T13:57:00.003-04:00

I am as excited as probably all of you about this weekend. Though the festivities started last night for Div. I-A, my Buckeyes play tomorrow. Cory who runs the web-site ballparks.com, let me know that he's going to be using some of the pictures here for his site that collects pictures from all kinds of stadiums. Check out his site as he has some great facts and pictures that tends to be much more exhaustive than this site. I keep talking about having schools to post, which is true, but I'm moving at my own pace on that. I'm hoping to have that put up sometime this season, and maybe taking some trips this spring. Best of luck to everyone this season!

What Happened?

2008-04-30T14:49:00.004-04:00

Not much. I have all the pictures cropped and posts more or less ready to go, I've just had a lot in front of me with being a new grown up and all. I stopped off at Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, and Western Kentucky since last writing here. There's also all of the North Carolina business to add here as well.

It'll get here. It's also been a little over a year now since people started coming to the site. I honestly didn't like what it was becoming in some regards. It's fun to get cheap attention, but I'll have just as much fun without it. Don't expect to see a "No Gurlz Aloud" sign or anything, but I just don't think that this is as exciting as people thought it would initially be.

It'll take me a few years to finish it, so until then expect updates to continue to simply trickle. Thanks.

Wounds to be licked...

2008-01-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

It's no secret to the Project 119 "community" that I am a huge Buckeye fan. It's also no secret that the Buckeyes have been anything but stellar in the last two National Championship games. Going into the game, I felt actually better this year because of the whole "underdog" thing. Last year was like watching the buildup to the 2003 Fiesta Bowl against Miami in which the Buckeyes came into a situation that they were the deserved underdogs, except replace "Miami" with "Ohio State" and the "Buckeyes" with "Florida" and you'll get the idea. Last year's National Championship game was a clinic on how to rush the passer and keep a defense on its heals presented by the Florida Gators.

A bunch of Big 10 fans got upset last year because a few people pointed out how there was a mismatch in that game between the Ohio State offensive front and the Florida defensive front. A few poorly phrased comments by Jim Delaney and overreactions by fans of Big 10 teams, and we all of the sudden have the most obnoxious, over-hyped argument I've ever seen in college football. Big 10 fans started frothing at the mouth claiming that nobody should talk about their Big 10 like this (this = slow, behind the times, bad at football, etc.), and it continued to mushroom into what we have today -- every single person with a platform talking about how their conference is better than everyone else's. Fans of SEC teams never cared about the Big 10 before this ridiculous discussion started, and with good reason. Honestly, it is the biggest exercise in hyperbolic nonsense to argue passionately for your conference when your conference tends to house your rivals.

So I will not dignify, nor have I ever dignified, the same stats that are used to present two sides of an argument. I refuse to discuss whose conference can beat up whose conference and think that these internets could be used for much more exciting things.

So in conclusion for this year's National Championship game, I only offer the following: I've never seen a Tressel-coached team get that many personal foul penalties -- especially at such critical junctions. Chris Wells is more of a grown man than I possibly ever will be, Todd Boeckman is who we thought he would be, and if the Juniors on our defense feel that they've finished business enough in Columbus to move on, then more power to them. I'm still pleased with winning a Big 10 championship and still feel nothing but pride for the Buckeyes.

Art Garfunkel Would Be So Proud

2008-01-04T07:11:00.000-05:00

So I looked over at the last post I created and it has been literal months. A couple of lame excuses for this: one is that after working to get into Clemson and a few other places I checked out, there seems to be a newfound rejection of stadium appreciation among school administrators. I understand. I think that a lot of people have been trying to do this, but now that it is cared about on the internet it's become a little bit of a publicity or branding problem. I think that will cool off come this spring. The second reason for the lack of posting has been Ohio State's run at the National Title. Just because I am trying to cultivate a better appreciation for college football as a whole does not mean that I cannot be a complete and total homer. I'm pretty excited about this coming Monday and obviously hope the Buckeyes smoke LSU. Third is one part laziness, one part craziness (see what I did there?). We're moving back to Cincinnati because frankly, Washington, DC is not for me. I also am ready to finish up the graduate degree instead of allowing it to hang over my head for an even longer extended period of time. So there's all of that. I have four or five school posts to create or edit. I was in Columbus for Christmas and guess whose Horseshoe was wide open? I'll have some cellphone Ohio State pictures to add since it was a total improv visit. I will say that I actually had goosebumps for the first and hopefully last time going into an empty stadium in the middle of December.

Literally my favorite album of all time. The song "Richard Cory" is what keeps me coming back for more...

Project 119 turns 100,000

2007-10-27T14:16:00.001-04:00

Or something like that. Either way, I hit 100,000 miles put on my car as I was pulling into Dowdy Ficklen Stadium yesterday since I got a little turned around in Greenville. Don't ask how that happens because I'm still not sure. Either way, today I was able to run around to a few different schools since all of everything is within a half hour near the Research Triangle. I put up a couple of new pages including Marshall from last weekend, and Duke and North Carolina Central University from today. The remaining schools from this trip (NC State, North Carolina, E. Carolina, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech) will be up in the coming weeks. I was going to visit South Carolina to hit a couple of schools, but I was told by one AD that I would be denied access to a field because of "National Security concerns". Not kidding. Either way, check out what I have and expect the schools of South Carolina in the near future or so.

Duke: Wallace Wade Stadium

2007-10-27T13:57:00.000-04:00

Wallace Wade Stadium (f.k.a. Duke Stadium) may be home to one of the worst football programs in the history of recent memory, but I don't think that Duke really cares. The stadium actually hosted the 1942 Rose Bowl because of travel restrictions placed on the West Coast immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which I was shocked to find out when I saw the banner hanging by the track. Duke does get props for sticking with a natural grass field and still having the track run around the outside, but given the choice between a track and a winning football program, I think I'll take the latter. Beautiful campus, but perhaps the school should stick with basketball.

First Game: 1929, v. Pitt

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Wallace Wade Stadium

North Carolina Central: O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium

2007-10-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

I couldn't leave the Research Triangle without giving a little respect to one of the newest members of Division I-AA. North Carolina Central University is home to the 2006 CIAA Division II Black College Football Champions and taking their crack at Division I-AA this year as an Independent. Project 119 wishes the Eagles the best of luck this season and in the ones to follow.

Google Map of O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium

Marshall: Joan C Edwards Stadium

2007-10-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

The drive to Huntington, WV couldn't have come on a better weekend. The team was playing Southern Mississippi in a Sunday night game, so the field was open on Saturday. If someone can explain the logic to playing a Sunday night game during the NFL's regular season, please do so. Joan C Edwards Stadium is one of two Division I-A stadiums named after a female (the other belongs to South Carolina), and she was one of the main donors that made the field possible. Contrary to popular lore, Matthew McConaughey does not still roam the sidelines of Joan C Edwards shirtless in all of his hairy, hairy glory. Marshall is having a tough season this year (0-7), and opened this stadium in the 1990s when they were still a Division I-AA team. Even the combined spirits of Randy Moss and Chad Pennington couldn't bring success to the team this year, which is too bad because ever since the 2002 Ohio State season in which Mike Nugent kicked a field goal as time expired to win the game I've had a little bit of respect for the school.

First Game: v. New Hampshire 1991

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Joan C Edwards Stadium

Atlantic Coast Musings

2007-10-22T16:01:00.000-04:00

The Marshall post will be up after the trip this weekend. It was a good trip, but Huntington is far away from literally anything. Things are shaping up nicely for this weekend's trip. The weather is probably going to be miserable on Friday and Saturday, but that's alright. The information below is not new, but a quick reminder about what this weekend's trip will look like. I'll put the Batsignal out there again for anyone who knows anything about these programs and stadiums to give me a shout if you want to meet up at the field. I've heard a little back about North Carolina, but could use more info on the other schools. I'm looking forward to the first officially sanctioned Project 119 trip South.

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The tentative schedule for the trip looks like this:

Friday (26th):
Convince my boss I should leave work early (ed. note: Check.), head down I-95. I'll stop in at East Carolina before landing in Clemson, SC to sleep. I'm really excited about seeing Death Valley, and will do so the next morning.

Saturday (27th):
Start at Clemson in the morning and then head to USC. After this, things get a little murky. Since there are games at Wake Forest and NC State, I'm not sure what I am going to do while I run around the Research Triangle, etc. I'd like to make it to a game, so I may drop in on the Wake/UNC game or the NC State/Virginia game.

Sunday (28th):
Leave early and go wherever I haven't hit before heading off to Virginia Tech. I'm pretty excited about Lane Stadium and would obviously prefer seeing a game there, but I take what I can take.

I’m really excited about this trip since it’s been a few months since I’ve taken a full blown tour, and the stadiums on this leg are homes of some respectable programs. This also is likely to be the last all out trip of 2007, meaning that I’ve been able to visit somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 or so stadiums this year alone. Big thanks to everyone who had a hand in helping us out along the way, which include the following:

The Wiz
Richard at MapGameDay
Army Cadets
Illinois News Channel 15
Eric, the world's best Volunteer
Will, Matt, Orson, and other “bloggerhood” illuminati
The various ADs and coaching staff who put up with silly requests
Stadium personnel NOT working for Iowa, Akron, Michigan State, or UConn
Mrs. Project 119

Welcome to ACC Country

2007-10-13T11:44:00.000-04:00

Quick Hit: Marshall today was pretty sweet. More on that early this week. No West Virginia tomorrow as today's trip for one school was much longer than I thought it would be. Next week's trip is still on and the details are below. Brent Musburger just said the Illinois offense "Got 'er done". That sucks man.

With about half the season already behind us, it's time to get back on course with the goal here of experiencing all of the Division I-A college football stadiums around the country. In a couple of weekends, I am going to be heading south for the first officially sanctioned Project 119 trip south since the inception of this site. Before that though, I'm going to look to hit the schools of West Virginia next weekend. Since it is the middle of the season, scheduling around games will be difficult, but I think that I should have things pretty well sorted out by the time these trips take off. E-mails are being sent to Athletic Directors asking for permission to take in the unique experience each atmosphere presents and hopefully they will oblige the requests to take a quick peak at each facility.

MapGameDay.com map of the trip:

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The tentative schedule for the ACC trip looks like this:

Friday (26th):
Convince my boss I should leave work early, head down I-95. I'll stop in at East Carolina before landing in Clemson, SC to sleep. I'm really excited about seeing Death Valley, and will do so the next morning.

Saturday (27th):
Start at Clemson in the morning and then head to USC. After this, things get a little murky. Since there are games at Wake Forest and NC State, I'm not sure what I am going to do while I run around the Research Triangle, etc. I'd like to make it to a game, so I may drop in on the Wake/UNC game or the NC State/Virginia game.

Sunday (28th):
Leave early and go wherever I haven't hit before heading off to Virginia Tech. I'm pretty excited about Lane Stadium and would obviously prefer seeing a game there, but I take what I can take.

If you have ticket connections or stadium connections at any or all of these facilities, you know I want to hear from you. E-mail me at the address to your right and believe me when I say you’ll get shouts out. I’m really excited about this trip since it’s been a few months since I’ve taken a full blown tour, and the stadiums on this leg are homes of some respectable programs. This also is likely to be the last all out trip of 2007, meaning that I’ve been able to visit somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 or so stadiums this year alone. Big thanks to everyone who had a hand in helping us out along the way, which include the following:

The Wiz
Richard at MapGameDay
Army Cadets
Illinois News Channel 15
Eric, the world's best Volunteer
Will, Matt, Orson, and other “bloggerhood” illuminati
The various ADs and coaching staff who put up with silly requests
Stadium personnel NOT working for Iowa, Akron, Michigan State, or UConn
Mrs. Project 119

Enjoy your weekend of football, expect some updates in the near future as things take shape.

*As a side note. Wag of the Finger to you China for co-opting Project 119’s name for your evil, Socialist means. You may have had one of the first media outlets to put Project 119 on the map, but I will forever take issue with your use of this name as a propaganda tool.

It needed to be said.

Delaware: Delaware Stadium

2007-09-09T12:06:00.000-04:00

Nothing has changed here. Don't confuse Project 119 for hopping onto the F.K.A. Div. I-AA bandwagon. I was desperate to catch a football game yesterday that wasn't ACC related since that's all the coverage I can get here, so Lisa and hopped up to Delaware to catch the Fightin' Blue Hens and their otherworldly running back Omar Cuff. The kid is LT in Division I-AA clothes. He scored three touchdowns in the first quarter to cap off a total of 10 touchdowns in his first 5 quarters played. It was Delaware's home opener, and the tailgating was pretty great. So without further ado, I give you Delaware Stadium.

Surface: Natural

First Game: v. Lafayette, 1952

Google map of Delaware Stadium

"One, Two...You know what to do..."

2007-09-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

Week two of the season and I would be remiss in failing to point out that TCU is the new Boise State. That said, Project 119 turns a new page tonight as I head up to Newark, Delaware to take in the Fightin' Blue Hens dominant running game. F.K.A. Division I-AA is all the rage, and Project 119 will not be left out of this scene. So if you're one of the literally eight people from Newark that have been to this site since January 1st (source: Google Analytics), I'll be looking for your tailgate. Pictures and words tomorrow.*

*In the interest of full disclosure, the plan was to head to Huntington to catch the Friends of Coal Bowl between Marshall and West Virginia, only to have Marshall's Communications AD be the biggest let down since Michigan's Special Teams. I am pretty excited about taking in my first I-AA game tonight, even if the home team has helmets and colors a little too similar to the Wolverines.

Western Kentucky Will Screw Us All

2007-09-04T20:42:00.002-04:00

With all of the other stuff about College Football out there, we decided that it couldn't possibly hurt to add something else to the party that is Web 2.0. So since updates during the fall are a little less frequent (I blame the ADs), and finances going as far as they do, we're going to start adding a weekly feature around here that is kind of a round up of what you just saw over the weekend. This week's obviously coming a couple of days later than it could have, but you should expect to see some sort of update here about the same time that the various media outlets have their rankings up (Sunday around dinner time). Honestly, the goal is to keep you informed as well as interested as we transition this a little bit through the season. It is much more difficult to take long tours around the backroads that are our college towns during the winter, and schools do well to lock down their facilities during the season, so it's tougher to run buck wild through the country looking to hop fences when there are individuals on the other side of those fences. One of my traveling counterparts Shawn will be doing a lot of the writing because he's frankly wittier than I am, and I'm sure he'll hold your attention longer than I can. So I hope you get some enjoyment out of reading what we have here for you, and good luck through the season.

Dave

Thanks for the kind words, Dave. Although why you think talking about "Web 2.0" isn't enough to keep people's attention I'll never understand. Week one is less of a round up, and more of me imploring those of you who are stuck in a conference-centric mindset to come to the freedom I have (re)found.

Quit thinking of the respective conference of your favorite team as a “family.” Please. It could be that you don’t even realize you think of it in this way, but I promise that a vast majority of you do. You argue that the Pac-10 is “better” than the SEC because Cal beat Tennessee, which gives you pride as an ASU fan. Being a Buckeye, you’re always thrilled when Michigan loses, but you feel that tinge of fear that you may have to hear about the Big 10 being overrated. Stop thinking that way. Hate every other team in your conference, and root for them to lose as often as possible. I promise, you’ll enjoy it. Here’s why: it’s how you used to do it. Back when you first fell in love with a team. Back when rooting was as simple as it should be. You’re conference rivals will not lose every game; you should accept each loss they offer as a gift.
This desire for simplicity started with last year’s National Championship, and came to a head this past weekend. I’m from Georgia and bleed red and black (similar to those suffering from the Ebola virus, but less mess). But I went to school in Ohio, and most of my friends are fans of either Ohio State or Michigan. Now my dad is also an Ohio State fan, and one of my favorite memories is watching the 2003 National Championship game with him. But something changed last year. It seemed as if the Ohio State faithful (my dad, thankfully, excluded) tried to change OSU/UF into Big 10/SEC. I drove home to watch the game with my dad, knowing either result would be a little awkward for me. You know how it ended: my least favorite team became the 2006 National Champions, and my dad had to deal with the loss. But then Georgia’s conference got the rep of being the obviously superior conference (although they still went 1-2 against the Big-10 last bowl season).
Saturday, Tennessee went out to Berkeley to complete a home-and-home with Cal. It was the same situation as UF/OSU, only with a different outcome. Hated rival loses, but the SEC shows some kinks in the armor. But I’ve had it. I can no longer root for teams I hate, even when it would make my conference look better. I want Georgia to win the SEC every season, but I’ve stopped caring whether or not the SEC wins the hypothetical “best conference” argument ever again. Follow me; it’s a better way.

Florida State fans, don’t ever feel that a Miami loss is ever anything less than a positive for you. Ever.

OU fans, if Texas ever goes 0-12, you should be able to rejoice without fear of repercussions.

Georgia fans, I hope you’re like me in dreaming of a season where Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn only beat each other. I dreamt this as a young fan, and I’ve learned to dream this dream again.

Shawn

P.S. Sorry you were promised wit and instead received a discourse, but I needed to get that off my chest.

A Hobby Spun Out of Control

2007-08-09T17:45:00.000-04:00

If you're coming here from the article on CBS Sportsline we did with Dennis Dodd, then welcome. There is a good bit of information here, and if all goes to plan, there will continue to be more. This started out as basically a photo cache for me and my friends and family that I could always have to refer back to when thinking about my different trips to see all the Division I-A College Football Stadiums. What I didn't realize is that there were other people out there that shared my level of geekiness and enjoy this. So with apologies to those of you looking for something professional, and perhaps even well done, welcome.

As far as navigation is concerned, all the schools I have been to are broken down by conference on the link list to the right. A little further down, you can see them all individually as well. There are a couple of videos that were shot - a few by us, and a few by the news crew of the ABC Affiliate in Champaign, IL. Everything on this site has been self-financed. Between taking vacations, working overtime, having a forgiving wife, splitting hotels with friends, and cramming 8 schools into one whirlwind of a day, this site has come from the depths of my increasingly empty pockets.

A couple of posts of interest. When I went to Cincinnati, it had snowed and where there are creative college students and large quantities alcohol, there is always good art. Shawn, Tony, and I went to Notre Dame and were suprised by the warm welcome we got there - and equally suprised by the cold shoulder Iowa showed us. BYU was gorgeous, Wyoming was not. And if you haven't made it out to any of the service academies, you're missing out. I still can't wait to head out to ~~Fort Collins~~ Colorado Springs to see the Air Force Academy, but I have managed to see the Naval Academy and West Point.

All in all, this site is updated as frequently as time allows. I am working on doing some Video Blogging for a national site that hopefully turns into something fun. I will be sticking around the East and Southeast for most of that. But I have a HUGE trip planned for this spring that will attempt to take down every school west of Texas. More on that when finances and vacation allow, but for now, enjoy the site. You can always reach me at dave (at) project119 (dot) com. If you have stories, think I should visit your place, or just want to lighten the financial load, drop me an e-mail. Thanks for stopping by.

Below is a tool that MapGameday provides where you can track where you've been, estimate how much it would cost to get there, and get general directions to different stadiums. Richard, who runs the site, does an unbelievable job on the site, and has been a big help in helping me get where I am. I found him originally through the Wizard of Odds.
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Virginia: Scott Stadium

2007-07-29T20:55:00.000-04:00

Scott Stadium is, to the resounding description on Wikipedia, the oldest Division I stadium in the Commonwealth of Virginia (out of two). The Cavaliers have a tradition of showing a video of their mascot "slaying" the mascot of the other team before every home game, culminating in the Cavalier riding onto the field in a moment of fervor to be shared by every fan.

That's kind of creepy.

The best part about seeing Scott Stadium for me was who I was escorted around by. Al Groh has taken a lot of heat as the head coach at the school, though he has taken his team to three bowl victories since taking the helm. He has also sent a lot of guys to the NFL, even a couple of coaches. One of those coaches has since come back, and was nice enough to show me around the facility while taking a couple of parents of a new recruit around as well. Since it was a guided tour, I was able to check out the locker room (seriously on the level of Notre Dame, just without the tradition), as well as come through the entrance the players take to get onto the field. All in all, Scott Stadium was a very nice experience. The grassy knoll behind one of the end zones set in front of the columns leading into the stadium made me more than excited that we're staring straight the start of another season.

First Game: v. VMI, 1931

Surface: Natrual

Google Map of Scott Stadium

Navy: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

2007-07-08T16:33:00.000-04:00

I think that I mentioned in the post about Army that there is a real sense of genuine Patriotism that comes with visiting a Service Academy field, and Navy's was no different. Though we didn't get the red carpet treatment in Annapolis we received at West Point, the sense of awe was augmented by the labeled seats that rest in front along the 50 yard line. Anyone who has served in the Navy or Marine Corps can have a seat dedicated in their name for $300. There were some names of great Americans up in the very front that put a perspective on the dedication required to be an athlete and cadet. One thing about Navy, though. They have a "rivalry" with Notre Dame that has to be the most lopsided rivalry in College Football. The Midshipmen are 9-70-1 against the Fighting Irish, and have lost 43 straight. I'd call it a day on that rivalry, but what do I know about having a rivalry with a team that has, at least in the past, had your number?

First Game: v. William and Mary, 1959

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

Maryland: Byrd Stadium

2007-07-08T16:13:00.001-04:00

Technically, Chavy Chase Field at Byrd Stadium, but the corporate sponsorship and naming of athletic facilities is too much to keep up with. Byrd Stadium is the site that I will most likely be attending a game this fall geographically. I'm not too interested in the ACC slate of games, but my options are limited since I am all but surrounded by the conference. The greatest thing for a Southern Ohio kid to see up at Byrd Stadium was Boomer Esiason's number all hung up. The worst thing for anyone to see on a football field is the following item found near the goal post:

Not sure what that is from that distance? Here, take a closer look:

So while the University of Cincinnati provides the necessary anatomy for all of your sexual needs, the University of Maryland takes the responsible route and provides the protection. Other than that, there weren't too many highlights at Byrd Stadium. There's another picture below that was outside medical facilities room near the locker rooms.

First Game: v. Navy, 1950

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Byrd Stadium

Temple: Lincoln Financial Field

2007-07-08T15:55:00.000-04:00

Lincoln Financial Field has a really cool lay out. The stadium is set up for the Philadelphia Eagles, and the way the seats are arranged, it feels like you're right on top of the field. The way that all of the athletic facilities are all set up on their own side of town was cool from the perspective of someone on a stupid road trip to see everything. Unfortunately, it hasn't done a lot to help one of the losingest (not a real word) cities in the nation. The Temple Owls are not exempt from this. After Pop Warner stepped down from being the head coach in 1939, the Owls had only four (4) winning seasons in the next thirty (30) years. The Owls also almost tied their losing streak record in Two Thousand and Six (2006), losing twenty (20) straight. All of these numbers give a team the respect needed to enter the MAC in starting in 2007 for football only. Good luck against the likes of Eastern Michigan, you lovely creatures you.

First Game: v. Villanova, 2003 (a loss)

Google Map of Lincoln Financial Field

You'll Laugh, You'll Cry...

2007-06-23T16:46:00.000-04:00

Hey, I know it has been a week or two since I put a post up, but that is because I only have a couple more stadiums left from this last trip and frankly, you'd be milking it too. But I do have some video for you all to watch. Our future film champion of the world Nathaniel put together the video from this last trip into a twenty minute victory lap from the trip. It obviously is great editing if you can get 20 minutes of captivating video from a trip with two guys who hardly speak to each other by the end of a trip, so great job Nate. Enjoy in three parts:

In the next couple of weeks I will finish the posts from this last trip and have some plans firmed up for the beginning of the season. I also aim to use "douche bag" as an adjective less in both life and posting.

Rutgers: Rutgers Stadium

2007-06-13T05:05:00.000-04:00

A.K.A. : The House that Bird Crap Built.

By the time we were headed to Rutgers, things were looking up. We had just gone through the amazing experience that is West Point and foolishly started to believe that we would be welcomed at every stop with open arms. All that we had to do was just call ahead. As a rule, I try to e-mail two people in the athletic offices of each team before I leave so that I can at least see if the doors to the fields are opened up and it isn't going to be too much of a problem. The folks at Rutgers did not e-mail back, and I got a tip that the stadium stays somewhat locked up. So I took down a couple of numbers and we called them once we got on the New Jersey Turnpike headed in. The guy who picked up sounded a little nervous, but was willing to meet us at Rutgers Stadium to let us in because the field is "always locked up". I felt pretty good about the whole thing until he came back with a suprise uppercut of a lecture on how I shouldn't call ahead an hour before hand and that it was a big favor for him to do that for us. I thought it was fine that he was going to be a little too much with the consolidation of power because like I ever plan on coming back to Piscataway, NJ ever again in my life.

We got to the field and he was about 15 minutes late and pulled up in his SUV ready to go. In that 15 minutes, we managed to find a gate that was open, argue somewhat not seriously about just going in and letting them kick us out, and then deciding just to wait. When he finally showed up and made some uncomfortable comment about the doors being open and that being funny, we followed him in. I have to say that the whole set up looked reasonably nice. The field was in great condition (we were pretty high up though), and all the landscaping and what not looked good. When I asked if we could go on the field, he kind of politely pointed out the 4 or 5 players down there and said, "We have to protect our players." I understand that. What with the rivalries that Rutgers has with Princeton (haven't played them since 1890) and Seton Hall (only applies to basketball), there must be a market out there of dudes that want to take the crowbar to all kinds of Scarlet Knight.

After acquiescing to the field/player policy, I started to walk around the concourse to the other side of the stadium. I heard a nervous voice pipe up behind me.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I just want to go around there and take some pictures of the press box."

"Actually, you can't go over there. Can you just stop at the 'R' around there and shoot from there?"

At this point, I felt like a little kid who was told where and how far I could go by my parents. With that feeling also comes the feeling of pushing that line as far as I can, and so I did. I didn't get too far past the "R" before I was told to come back, but it was on my way back that the deal was off.

Our "guide" from the athletic office said something to the effect of the following:

"Yeah, I just didn't want you to go any further over there because there's some bird poop that we don't want people to know about."

Really? Too bad. Because I realize that it's summer and keeping the inside of a stadium maintained to the point of what you need to do in the autumn is tough. So I can over look stuff like that. But when you start restricting access because I might fall on an athlete and tear his ACL and then tell me I can't walk any further because your janitorial staff can't keep the birds under control, you're asking for it.

First Game: v. Kent State, 1994

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Rutgers Stadium

Army: Michie Stadium

2007-06-10T19:53:00.000-04:00

West Point was a pretty awe inspiring experience. At the point of sounding cliche to the September 12th Generation (what?), it would be difficult to leave the Military Academy without feeling a little pride in your country. Outside of patriotic fervor, the facilities that we are providing for our young men on the Army Football team are top class. We were escorted around by a couple of cadets who showed us the ins and outs of what it is to be both growing as a team in the Army, as well as in the weight room and on the football field. The guys just got a new upgrade to that weight room, as well as an indoor practice facility when the weather gets dicey in the hills outside New York City. One of the coaches, Gabe who I think may be strength and conditioning, was also willing to let us check out the new digs in the weight room. The new squat record for Linebackers was set by one of our guides, Cadet John Plumstead, this last year. The setting was right up there with the best of the best that I have seen, and as soon as I get around to having Shawn type up something about his experience, he can add wit and excitement that I simply fail to do.

First Game: v. Saint Louis University, 1927

Surface: AstroPlay

Google Map of Michie Stadium

UConn: Rentschler Field

2007-06-10T19:39:00.001-04:00

The Buddha at Rentschler Field kind of sucks. He wouldn't let us into the stadium to take pictures when we rolled the same time he did to go into the office and find the middle way. I think that people get worried that we'll say negative things about them if they let us into the stadium, but the inverse just happens. Wait until you see Rutgers. The Buddha is some guy who works at the field and wanted us to wait around for an hour for his boss to show up. We didn't really have time to leave both our patience and our hearts in Hartford, so we ended up taking off. The pictures below serve as the only proof of our visit to the field managed by Madison Square Garden, and that's a real shame I guess. The Cadets from Army that we met up with really liked to play here, as it is a new facility. So congratulations on making it to Division I-A UConn. We hope you like the Big East.

First Game: v. Indiana University

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Rentschler Field

Boston College: Alumni Stadium

2007-06-02T18:22:00.000-04:00

The area around Boston College, I believe Chestnut Hill, is the most beautiful neighborhood I've been through yet to get to a field. As you pull into Chestnut Hill from I-90, you are forced to drive through a neighborhood of million dollar homes in an effort to probably shame you should you be from South Bend, IN. The stadium was a little smaller from the inside than I would have expected, but the focus on excellence and tradition seemed to be dripping from the bleachers. I found out that the stadium was opened by then Senator John F. Kennedy in 1957 in a game against the Naval Academy.

First Game: v. Navy, 1957

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Alumni Stadium

Syracuse: The Carrier Dome

2007-06-02T17:56:00.000-04:00

The Carrier Dome was fantastic. It was a little disappointing that the field was set up for a small court basketball tournament, but I think all that did was open up the place for us to get into a little easier. I thought about how cool it would have been to be able to see Donovan McNabb work his Orange magic on the field, and came to the obvious conclusion that it would have been a great experience. The Carrier Dome is the most obvious choice in upstate New York for concerts, especially big ones in the winter. Phil Collins will attest to that above.

First Game: v. Miami University, 1980

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of the Carrier Dome

Buffalo: UB Stadium

2007-06-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

First one to explain what this sign says wins "Greatest Reader of Forever" Recognition. It was up in the stadium.

University at Buffalo Stadium was part of the "Drive to Division I" that the school commenced after Buffalo was relegated all the way into Division II. The trick eventually worked as the Bulls moved up through I-AA into Division I-A. What it didn't manage to do was to make the Bulls anything near competitive in Division I-A. The Bulls have been a stellar 12-79 since moving into the "Bowl Subdivision". That record against a field of MAC opponents as well.

First Game: v. University of Maine, 1993

Surface: Momentum Turf

*If you can tell us what the sign means and what Momentum Turf is, you get to become Grand Chancellor of this blog*

Google Map of UB Stadium

Live Blogging : 5.29.07

2007-05-29T22:52:00.001-04:00

17 Hours on the road, and a lot of ground covered. The day started in Cincinnati this morning at 5.30a and ended at 10.30p in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn in East Hartford, CT. We went to Buffalo, Syracuse, and Boston College in the day, and things went reasonably well. No having to jump fences, and we managed to get into the Carrier Dome Locker Rooms. I was much more impressed with Syracuse than I thought I would be, but that is news for another post. Tomorrow starts early with UConn, and we meet up with a Cadet at Army immediately after. More driving and traffic for the day as it ends in the South West corner of the DC Metro area. For now, I leave you me loving ACC Country and my haircut.

Update - 05.26.07

2007-05-26T21:38:00.000-04:00

I have e-mails out to the following schools or professional teams (ahem, Phily), to see about getting onto some fields:

Army
Navy
Syracuse
Boston College
Temple (via the Eagles)

I have not tried to contact anyone at UConn, Buffalo, Rutgers, or Maryland because I don't think that those should be all that difficult. I'm pretty excited about this trip as it will clear the Independent and MAC Schools and I get to venture into ACC country for the first time. If you have an interest in meeting up at a stadium, I'd still love to hear some stadium lore from you. Drop me an e-mail at the addresses to the right (I'm Dave), and we'll make it happen.

Also, I am starting to collect some of the blogs I like for each team on the right side. Everyone else does this, and so I figured why not. So for now, if you give me a hand with information or help with arranging a tour or what not, you're on. You should start seeing posts from the trip that goes May 29th - 31st by next weekend.

Update: 05.19.07

2007-05-19T11:10:00.000-04:00

This post is full of media. I am still on a quest to build a better web page right now. I plan on having some extra time this summer not putting up posts from suicidal trips to get that done. But the latest on the new trip is below:

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I am moving to Washington DC for school, so the trip will be Cincinnati to Buffalo to Syracuse to Boston College to UConn to Army to Rutgers to Temple to Navy to Maryland. This should be the last trip for a couple of months. I am hoping to hit the North Carolina/Virginia schools around the open of the season this fall. I have talked to some people about Army, Boston College, and Syracuse. I am curious about getting into Navy, so if you are a cadet and know where to get some help, that'd be great.

Below are also two other media items. The first is a podcast from The Wizard of Odds from the Sports Byline Radio Show. It was about 3.30a here when I did that interview after I had just arrived home at 11.00p from 16 or so hours of driving. I sound much more tired than I had hoped I would. Also I have the video from the news cast we did in Champaign. A couple of things regarding that. It was great, don't get me wrong. But the trip is not going to be finished this summer as stated at the outset. I wish it could, but money is what it is. Also, Bowling Green is not in Kentucky. There is a Bowling Green, KY, but that is home to Western Kentucky University. Incidentally, WKU is screwing around with everything I am doing here as they are making their jump starting this year into Division I-A (or Bowl Sub-division), and that gives us 120 teams. I haven't decided what I am going to do about this, but Western Kentucky will be getting the Iowa treatment if they try anything funny...

Sports Byline Radio Podcast with the Wiz

I've got updates like you've got time on your hands:
I heard from a Cadet at Army who I am hoping is willing to meet up with me to give me some inside information about some of the history at West Point. Annapolis, you want to step in and make sure your buddies in the Army aren't going to show you up on Project 119?! Anyone else who wants to give an informal tour of facilities, I first apologize that you're still on campus, but I second invite you also to step up and make it happen. We'll make sure that you're thanked appropriately on the site and avoid the Iowa treatment...

Ball State: Scheumann Stadium

2007-05-19T10:47:00.000-04:00

To cap off a trip that was full of renovations and sneaking past "Hard Hat Area" signs, we arrived at Scheumann Stadium. Scheumann Stadium was a shell of a field, which isn't Ball State's fault. To their credit, they are making some major improvements from a Press Box to a new playing surface. The other details include adding some brick work, new concessions, luxury boxes, and lighting so ESPN can show up for some Thursday night games MAC action. To answer the obvious, we did not run into David Letterman, and if you happen to find yourself lost on the south side of Muncie, protect ya neck. It's pretty ghetto.

First Game: v. Central Missouri, 1967

Surface: Rocks

Google Map of Scheumann Stadium

Purdue: Ross-Ade Stadium

2007-05-19T10:20:00.000-04:00

Ross Ade was a dump. That's all there is to it. I'm hesitant to even add to this, but Purdue deserves much more respect than Iowa, so we will press forward. To approach fairness, they are in the middle of a "multi-phase" renovation, but the place was kind of what you would expect from a school who's mascot is a "Boilermaker". They are also in the middle of putting a new video screen in the scoreboard. As a note of interest, Ross-Ade was the first field I've been to that is a future home of the All American Football League.

First Game: v. Indiana, 1924

Surface: Bermuda Grass

Google Map of Ross-Ade Stadium

Illinois: Memorial Stadium

2007-05-19T09:55:00.000-04:00

We met up with News Channel 15's very own Matt Coldagelli at Memorial Stadium. Matt is one of the News Anchors there at ABC 15 and was nice enough to contact me and want to do a story about this little thing I have going. The YouTube video tells most of all of it. What they didn't get on video is the audio of us blasting Kelis' song "Milkshake" while filling up on gas. I had it loud enough that I was hoping they just couldn't ignore it, but somehow they did. Back to details...

Memorial Stadium was under some major renovation. If I remember correctly, it is a process of a couple years in making Memorial Stadium a little smaller and little more luxurious. They removed some seats along the upper deck near the press box, and from what I understand, are gutting the press box as well. It was under heavy enough construction that I have a feeling we would've been kicked out without Matt's help. Some guy from the Athletic Office looked as though he was coming to do so before he recognized Matt. The biggest thing that kept running through my mind was remembering that an NFL team played here not too long ago. The Bears made Memorial Stadium home as Soldier Field was being renovated a few years ago, and I cannot imagine being at Memorial for a Bears game as a Bears fan. Fortunately for the Bears and Memorial Stadium, Chicago sucked that year going 4-12.

First Game: v. University of Chicago, 1923

Surface: AstroPlay (sounds dirty)

Google Map of Memorial Stadium

Iowa: Kinnick Stadium

2007-05-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

I wish that the University of Iowa didn't employ total jackasses to lord over Kinnick Stadium. Apparently, Iowa is convinced that they are too good to allow people to take pictures in their newly renovated stadium. When I tried to go to Iowa in the summer of 2006, Kinnick was under total lock down. But it was a Saturday, and that kind of makes sense to do. Not so much for a weekday that every other stadium is open on. We walked all the way around the stadium again this year, and still locked. That is, until we walked past the giant statue back toward our car, and noticed one of the gates was open. "Jackpot," thought I.

...and then he arrived.

A man that can only be described as the physical embodiment of Iowa practically belly-bumped us backward the ten steps we had just taken. Can't picture the physical embodiment of Iowa? It looks similar to what you would have if you put these two individuals together...

(plus)

(equals)

The Physical Embodiment of Iowa.

Here's the thing before you get all excited Hawkeye Nation. When we said, "Hey, we just want to take a few pictures," this guy seriously started approaching us with menace in his eyes and mumbling, "There are thousands on HawkeyeSports.com, you have to leave." Is there some big secret in your stadium, Iowa? Are you afraid that we're some kind of spies from Ames that are there to steal your secrets? Are you hiding Bat Boy in Kinnick?

No matter what is happening in the basement of Kinnick Stadium, it isn't important enough to get any pictures posted. We have pictures from inside the stadium. But because of your douche baggery, Iowa, you only get this:

Iowa State: Jack Trice Stadium

2007-05-15T20:44:00.000-04:00

First, to Ames:

You are a small college town. I apologize for the awful things that I said about you in the car as I was racing the darkness. I lost. But we all lose when your town is laid out with a promise of signs to tell me how to get to Jack Trice, and no follow through. Coming from Minneapolis, you told me to exit to Jack Trice Stadium, and I did. You told me to go straight through a stop light, that I would get to Jack Trice - and I did. Then you stopped telling me how to get to Jack Trice. In fact, in the dark, your little town told me nothing. So you may suck, but not nearly as much as Iowa City.

Second, to Jack Trice Stadium:

I wish I knew more about you. But your douche bag of a friend Ames lied to me. So I'm sorry that I couldn't find out more about you. I would make sure you get together with Ames and find a better way to point visitors to your locale, rather than allowing to run Buck Wild as it is today.

First Game: v. Air Force, 1975

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Jack Trice Stadium (I have no idea what is happening in the South End Zone)

Minnesota: The Metrodome

2007-05-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Michael at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was a good host. He was a tour guide that was willing to show us around the facility for free, and even though the normal minimum for tours is 15, and we had only 20% of that minimum. Kind of a bummer here since the field isn't set up for Golden Gophers' Football, but rather for some Minnesota Twins' Baseball. I can understand the Gophers' hurry to move out here, though. Michael took us down to their locker room, which during baseball is converted into a daycare playroom for the baseball players' kids. I would want my own space too. The absolute coolest thing about the Metrodome is as follows: The roof is kept up by air pressure and really nothing else. So the doors leading in and out of the structure have to be air tight in order to keep the roof from collapsing. Michael allowed us to feel some of the pressure as he let us to the outside, and then had us try and fight our way back into the building. It was ridiculous. I would imagine that is what it feels like to fight a wind tunnel. But keep in mind that it was set up for baseball, so that's probably why that was the most exciting thing...

First Game: v. Ohio, 1982

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

Wisconsin: Camp Randall Stadium

2007-05-15T20:01:00.000-04:00

Camp Randall was freaking unbelievable. One of my favorite Buckeye bloggers keeps talking about Ohio State's becoming more and more "Wisconsonian", and I think he's crazy. Going to Camp Randall and going to the Horseshoe are two totally different experiences, and I haven't even been to a Wisconsin game. The whole atmosphere felt probably more small town college football than anything. I don't mean that to be derogatory at all, I actually mean it as a purity that I would suspect my Buckeyes are moving further and further away from. Don't misunderstand - Wisconsin football is big time, big program, and big money football. But the setting of Camp Randall communicates a steadfast hold to the roots of football as religion. Maybe it's the steeple looking Field House in the end zone. Maybe it was just the awe of a real stadium after we had just left Northern Illinois. Regardless, Camp Randall rivals LaVell Edwards as a place that I most want to see on a Saturday in October.

First Game: v. Beloit, 1917

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Camp Randall Stadium

Update 05.14.07

2007-05-13T09:52:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of fun things. I still am working on getting up the posts from the trip last week. I think there are still seven or eight posts to do with that. But there is another trip coming up in the very near future. As in two weeks from now. More details on that later, but for now, Richard at MapGameDay.com has a really cool new tool on his site. It's a Google Map that you can edit to show which stadiums you have been to, as well as use as a trip estimator for mileage and gas. Below is a map of what I have so far (NFL Fields included), and anytime a new trip is taken, I plan on using that as a good visual aide. Anyway, enough talk, here's the map...

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In two weeks I'm taking another trip, this time a swing through the Northeast. I should have it finalized by the end of the week, so look for an update there. I will say if you know anyone who is at West Point or Annapolis, and want to help out with getting in to either of those, I see them being a potential problem. Also, I hope to make things a little more interesting around here by talking with some people who know the stadium inside and out and featuring it in a podcast or something on the page. So if you are that person, please contact me. More details to come.

Northern Illinois: Huskie Stadium

2007-05-09T16:38:00.000-04:00

Notre Dame Locker Room = Impressive
Northern Illinois Locker Room = Less than Impressive

Dekalb is in the middle of nowhere. In the middle of cornfields, more accurately. Another field under construction, "Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium" a.k.a. the "House that George Bork Built" a.k.a. the "Doghouse" is seeing some improvements to its north end zone with the addition of a new training facility. The field was also one of the first in the state to use artificial turf back in the day. All the recent and relative success that NIU has had on the football field have helped the stadium receive pretty regular updates and upgrades. Except for the locker room. It was really gross.

First Game: v. Illinois State, 1965

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Huskie Stadium

Northwestern: Ryan Field

2007-05-09T16:20:00.000-04:00

Ryan Field is being used to film a movie about Ernie Davis right now, and the school tried to say that it would look way different than it normally does. The truth is, there was only a scoreboard up in the stands showing Holy Cross and Syracuse (and this just didn't make sense at the time), and that's it. The stadium was pretty amazing though. Granted, we had spent almost the whole day before at MAC stadiums before showing up here in Evanston, but the field was in great condition and the setting was pretty cool. It definitely exceeded my expectations. The press box was cool too. I don't know, it was just overall just a positive experience.

First Game: v. South Dakota, 1926

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Ryan Field

Notre Dame: Notre Dame Stadium

2007-05-08T19:33:00.000-04:00

I've been here twice now. I would prefer to let someone more clever than me who was there for the second time to comment on Notre Dame Stadium. I give you, the words of S-dot:

Officially, Project 119 still holds no position in the Convicts v. Catholics discussion. Both sides lend themselves to more gay sex jokes than we’re comfortable making on a family-friendly website. But the Catholics may have pulled ahead thanks to a maintenance man named Tom. We pulled into South Bend around 8:20, still lacking confidence thanks to Michigan State. Notre Dame kept up its role as most self-important football institution by putting itself on lock-down. We happened to catch a maintenance worker leaving the stadium, and we asked if he could get us inside to take a few quick pictures. He looked at his watch and told us he had to catch what inning the baseball game was in, but said he would be back if we waited about 5-10 minutes. After a half hour this seemed like the most ridiculous excuse we’ve ever been given. We started walking toward the car, despondent enough that we went looking for Roger Goodell’s private suite. But then, Touchdown Jesus smiled down on three evangelicals. Maintenance man Tom pulled around on his cart, explaining that the game was in the 9th inning, which meant he had to wait until the Golden Domers finished losing to Franklin College before he could clean up the field. We followed his cart back to our starting point, still a little disappointed that we had to wait until dark to get onto an unlit field. But Tom or Jesus or stick-to-it-ivness or whatever smiled down upon us again, and Tom unlocked the door to the very-lit Notre Dame locker room. The same room where all the fake Knute Rockne speeches may have happened. The same room where Lou Holtz inexplicably led a group of men to the National Championship. The same room with the stairwell that leads to the “Play Like A Champion Today” sign. (I’ve got a replica in my apartment, but I always forget to hit in on the way out. Even so, I’d still argue that my life’s going better than 10-3, so maybe the sign isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.) Dave promised that he touched the sign with the hand he didn’t pee on, so no need for any future Irish to fear. Tom’s ride was on his way, so we didn’t have much time on the field, but we were too schoolgirl giddy to care. We got as many bad pictures as possible in about three minutes, and I made sure to call my dad. When you choose to focus on the past, you also tend to ignore technology that includes the word “jumbo” or any seating that could be misconstrued as “comfortable.” But Tom still went above and beyond the call of duty, so at least for the time being, Catholic guilt beats felonious guilt.

First Game: v. Southern Methodist University, 1930

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Notre Dame Stadium

Western Michigan: Waldo Stadium

2007-05-08T19:16:00.000-04:00

College Football Rivalries are the greatest things in all of sports. I say that realizing that the only way to show proper deference to this belief is to capitalize "Rivalries". Even MAC Rivalries between Directional Michigan schools deserve respect when one team builds a stadium that has just one more seat than its rival. When Waldo Stadium was renovated in 1989, Western Michigan added just enough seats to have one more than its rival, Central Michigan. There was a lot of regret when we got here for not a single one of us owning a white and red striped shirt with a black "cap" to wear for the pictures. There was infinitely more regret when all of the doors to the bathrooms were locked. So when I peed into a drain in the ground, and somehow pissed all over my hand, things got gross and sad.

First Game: v. Miami University, 1939

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Waldo Stadium

Central Michigan: Kelly-Shorts Stadium

2007-05-08T18:41:00.000-04:00

I learned a lot at Kelly-Shorts Stadium. I learned what "UP" stands for (Upper Peninsula). I also learned that when EA wants information on a field, they send a team there to take a bunch of pictures and blue prints so they are at least mostly accurate. Central Michigan is also really far away from anything. That about sums it up. The kid that runs the front desk at the indoor sports park next to the
stadium, Josh, was nice enough to let us into the locked stadium. He also tried to show me up by jumping on the building behind the end zone and then offering to help me up there. I may not be a strong guy, Josh, but I can still jump on top of a building without your help. In the end, we couldn't have made it on the inside without your help, so thanks for that.

First Game: v. Illinois State, 1972

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Kelly-Shorts Stadium

Michigan State: Spartan Stadium

2007-05-08T18:22:00.000-04:00

If the only reason you're locking your stadium down is because your field looks like it has a disease, then you have problems. The kinds of problems that come when the only person that could help me get into the stadium according to the lady on the fifth floor of the stadium offices, is Amy. Amy likes being at the softball field rather than the office, so Amy might suck at her job. Michigan State employed a little bit of trickery to keep people off the field: Garage Doors. That's right. Each and every entrance from the concourse to the field had a garage door. It was both new and effective. But not totally.

To be fair, the doors kept us off the field, but not out of the stands. There was a small walkway that was pretty easy to jump up and over, and then run up the walkway to get out into the stands before someone noticed. The sad thing was that this walkway led all the way up to the top level. So the pictures are kind of lame, but you can see the grass version of chicken pox that Spartan Stadium clearly is suffering from in the picture. The field was in miserable condition, and Michigan State Softball sucks. There, I said it.

First Game: I think v. Lake Forest, 1923

Surface: Natural (Diseased)

Google Map of Spartan Stadium

Michigan: Michigan Stadium

2007-05-06T18:12:00.000-04:00

Ugh. This was tough. Not "There's no way we can get in here" tough. No, "My tummy hurts because I swore to never set foot within 50 miles of this dump" tough. Michigan Stadium is obviously an historic place. And to be honest, there was a sense of awe in the sheer magnitude of it. There was a whole corner of the bleachers taken out as some of the major renovation is already underway apparently. There are plans to add luxury boxes and widen the seats by 2010. The tour guide at Penn State told me that Beaver Stadium would assume the top position as the largest stadium in the nation after the renovations, but you ma'am are wrong. Michigan Stadium is actually adding to its size in order to top 108,000 according to Wikipedia. Anyhow, I said something nice. So that's it.

First Game: v. Ohio Wesleyan, 1927

Surface: Field Turf

Google Map of Michigan Stadium

Eastern Michigan: Rynearson Stadium

2007-05-06T17:51:00.000-04:00

Someone tell me how two Division I-A Football Programs end up no more than 15 minutes apart from each other. Ypsilanti is just down the street from Ann Arbor, so close in fact, that they are divided by the "Ypsi-Arbor Bowl" or something close to that. Eastern Michigan was the first "Directional Michigan" school that I was able to see. NCAA Football 2007 does the stadium no justice really, for whatever that's worth. Though the field and the track were really nice, the bathrooms were crap. Really crap. That's the first picture you'll see below. Other than that, the only cool lore about the stadium is that it was used by the Detroit Wheels of World Football League fame. The Detroit Wheels had some financial backing from Marvin Gaye making it possibly the coolest one-year franchise in the 1970s.

First Game: v. Akron, 1969

Surface: FieldTurf

Google Map of Rynearson Stadium

Toledo: The Glass Bowl

2007-05-06T15:11:00.000-04:00

Like Doyt L. Perry Stadium, the Glass Bowl was originally a WPA project built in 1936. The cool thing about it today, is that it retains much of its original look due to the fact that expansion has not been explosive. Whereas Ohio Stadium or Camp Randall have taken a whole new look from the outside due to rapid expansion, the Glass Bowl has retained much of the original stonework around the outside. The "glass" part comes from a renovation post-WWII to the stadium. It doesn't, as popularly belief holds, have a giant glass force field around it that keeps out great alumni like Bruce Gradkowski. Another popular belief is that the rocket that is outside the stadium and pictured below is pointed toward Bowling Green - Toledo's rival. I cannot confirm this, but if someone can, please do.

First Game: v. Akron, 1937

Surface: NexTurf

Google Map of the Glass Bowl

Bowling Green: Doyt L. Perry Stadium

2007-05-05T11:34:00.000-04:00

Doyt L. Perry, like many of the stadiums that we saw in April of 2007, was under some pretty major construction. The south end zone was getting new sod, and the north endzone was having a new complex installed behind it. The best part about the stadium is that it was opened on my birthday. Other than that, it kind of is the same as any other MAC field. No cool looking rocket out front allegedly pointed at a rival, just a solid home record. The Falcons are have around a .660 winning percentage at home which is really impressive considering their last MAC championship was in 1992. I cannot imagine trying to leave this place during game day, though. There are only a couple of exits, and they all lead to the one major road out of Bowling Green and onto I-75.

First Game: v. Dayton, 1966

Surface: Natural

Google Map of Doyt L. Perry Stadium

"Live" Blogging

2007-05-03T00:16:00.000-04:00

You know you want some "live" Blogging. Too bad. This is some "Northbrook, IL Red Roof Inn" Blogging instead. We had an amazing day that started at 6.30a and ended now, nearly 18 hours later. We started the day with an interview on the Rivals Network of Sirius Satellite Radio. Then we started the long drive in MAC/Big Ten/Independent country. The day was hurling itself toward disaster when we arrived at Notre Dame with both darkness setting in, and nothing but padlocks in sight. We found a really cool maintenance guy named Tom who was nice enough to lead us straight into the locker room. So among the excitement of the day, we saw eight schools and start early tomorrow morning at Northwestern. Some of the posts from the stadiums should be up here sometime Saturday afternoon, but we may have an update tomorrow night.

For now, enjoy the radio...

Welcome to the new world that cares...

2007-04-26T17:19:00.000-04:00

I really want to thank everyone who has come to the site recently. The press and stuff around the "Bloggerhood" has been at many levels funny and really great. So here's a round up of narcissistic posts about the whole thing here that has labeled me a lunatic...

With Leather

Every Day Should Be Saturday

The Noise Ratio

Deadspin

And of course, the site that started the attention, The Wizard of Odds

If you see anything else around the internet, please tell me. I have ego needs too. We right now are working on a couple of interviews that are being set up in Beijing and also at the ABC affiliate in Champaign, IL. If you need an easy story that is in the "human interest" and "college football" intersection, I'd obviously love to talk to you. We also talked to Vitamin Water, and they are providing hats for our interview in Champaign so that we can be the next Brian Urlacher. So thanks for coming by, and realize that I'm only at 20 stadiums today. Next week there will be a slew of updates after our trip, and hopefully a new web design in the near future.

Oh yeah. You can make my trip easier if you have sponsorship capital. Let us not forget that...

Finally for the day: New domain name. Get to us at project119.com now. We're all kinds of hi-tech now.

Coverage

2007-04-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

If you're here thanks to the Wizard of Odds, then welcome. As stated on his site, this is my little geek project that I am working toward. Some of the pictures are being replaced this week because I rushed them up before getting some more back from Walgreen's (I never said this was professional...). I also would love to hear from you if you have some suggestions or have a similar story to this one. And if you're some independently rich baron, baroness, or tycoon and want to support this ridiculous life of mine, then please do not hesitate:

dave (at) project119 (dot) com

I'd love to hear stories from you. I am going next weekend on a big trip to knock out 17 schools in the upper Midwest. If you go to one of the schools on this list, and you want to help me not have another incident like the one at Akron, I'd love to have your help. Or, if you go to Northwestern or the University of Iowa and want to put three dudes all around the age of 25 up in your place, that'd be great too.

Also, if you happened across this site without the Wiz's help, be sure to go there. It's where I get all of my college football news in a tidy little round up.

Penn State: Beaver Stadium

2007-04-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

I thought that I would have a lot of trouble getting onto this field being as it is the second largest in all of college football, and that it belongs to a pretty big time program. I was right in not being able to make it down to the field level, but the people at the Penn State Athletic Museum in the stadium were nice enough to allow me to take a quick tour of club seating and get some pictures from there. I was pretty excited about the field being lined and everything. I would assume that the Spring Game is right around the corner or has recently happened. Anyway, I was really impressed with this field and all around experience.

Google Map of Beaver Stadium

Akron: The Rubber Bowl

2007-04-12T12:17:00.000-04:00

The Rubber Bowl wins for being the most locked down stadium to date. I managed to walk onto an NFL field in the same day that I had to climb over and under fences and drive away from cops at Akron. It was a dump too. The stadium is built into the side of a hill right by where the International Soapbox Derby's finish line is located. There were signs everywhere that said something to the effect of No Trespassing: Property of the State of Ohio. That's cool and all, Akron, but I don't know why anyone would be caught dead trying to show up here for anything other than a geeky attempt to see all 119 football stadiums, or to accidentally fall onto an HIV infected used drug needle.

Google Map of the Rubber Bowl

Kentucky: Commonwealth Stadium

2007-04-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

Slightly suprised would be understating the whole thing. There were many different suprises in store for me and my friends when we went and saw the University of Georgia lose (suprise #1) to Kentucky. There was also a stadium that had a seating capacity of almost 70,000 (suprise #2), and it was almost full of people probably looking for the basketball game (not suprised). What was also not a suprise was how bad these people were at being football fans. If you happen to be in Lexington on a Saturday in the fall and the football Wildcats are on the field, cover your ears should they get a first down. Otherwise, you will hear 70,000 screaming fans go freaking bonkers over the gain of 10 yards. It is ridiculous. Did I mention the confused basketball fans (suprise #3)?

Google Map of Commonwealth Stadium

Update: 4/10/07

2007-04-10T07:50:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a trip tomorrow to get pictures of Pitt, Kent St., and Akron. I will also be driving all the way to State College, PA to get Penn St. checked off the list. This trip combined with the trip that happens at the beginning of May will allow me to complete the Big 10 and the MAC by this summer. I love this.

The Update

2007-03-14T14:28:00.000-04:00

This is an update regarding the trip that I am taking to knock out a few more schools here May 2nd - 4th. It is going to be the world's greatest stadium tour. It goes like this:

Cincinnati - Bowling Green
Bowling Green - Toledo
Toledo - Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor - E. Lansing
E. Lansing - Mt. Pleasant
Mt. Pleasant - Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo - South Bend
South Bend - Evanston
Evanston - DeKalb
DeKalb - Madison
Madison - Minneapolis
Minneapolis - Ames
Ames - Champaign
Champaign - W. Lafayette
W. Lafayette - Muncie
Muncie - Cincinnati

That in 3 days. Stay slightly less tuned in for updates. The next update will be done after that trip in early May.

Cincinnati: Nippert Stadium

2007-02-21T11:21:00.000-05:00

First of all, this is the most explicit post to date. I mean that in like an immaturely explicit way. Nippert Stadium only sits about 35,000 people, and Cincinnati is a regional metropolitan area of a little over 2 million. This is also a place that is considered a decent area for high school recruiting, so I don't really understand it. So the other thing about Nippert is that I've played on this field. Obviously not during a real football game, but this stadium is always open for business. With that understanding, I present to you the home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team. I also present to you what happens when it snows in Cincinnati (an area that gets snow, but not enough clearly for people to be able to handle it in a mature way), and this stadium is open to the public. Stay classy, Cincinnati.

Google Map of Nippert Stadium

UNLV: Sam Boyd Silver Bowl

2007-02-15T18:59:00.000-05:00

Since I lived in Vegas for a few months, I knew I had to get to the stadium at some point. Thing is, and I realize that all stadiums aren't on campus, but UNLV is ridiculous as far as locating their field. It literally is on the very far eastern edge of town in the middle of a desert "field" or "opening". It also has the really lame trees at the north end zone that don't make much sense seeing as, again, it's the desert. But all in all, the "House that Suge Knight Built" is relatively new looking and kind of plain. It was also the easiest stadium to get into up to this point. Also, I think the "Silver Bowl" refers to Nevada being the "Silver State". That's all.

Google Map of Sam Boyd Stadium

New Mexico: University Stadium

2007-02-15T18:44:00.000-05:00

I was really pleasantly suprised with Albuquerque. It was a town that I did not think I would enjoy, but thought was pretty cool. One thing with the campus at New Mexico - they had signs all over campus that looked like this:

That's me as far as surnames are concerned. Past that, I was pleased that they still have a natural grass stadium, and though the facility isn't all that new at all, they built a new Minor League Baseball stadium near it that is new...not that it has any bearing on anything. Anyway, the stadium seats 40,000 and has a grassy knoll. Kennedeys beware.

Google Map of University Stadium

Wyoming: War Memorial Stadium

2007-01-27T22:32:00.000-05:00

That's right. War Memorial Stadium. I had no clue what to expect when Wuske and I were headed into Laramie, WY. We took the time to drive through Cheyenne just out of curiosity, and it looked as "meth'ed" out as you could imagine. So as we pulled up into Laramie, I just wasn't sure what to expect. It was pretty sad, but pulling into the parking lot at War Memorial Stadium simply took the proverbial cake. Not only was the parking lot not paved, but the old horse ties that divided all the parking spots in the lot were still there. It was crazy for that and because it was almost May and there was a few inches of snow on the ground. No Google Map, but here are some crazy facts about you, Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium:

1. You are the highest Div. I-A Field at 7,220 ft. above Sea Level.

2. The Cowboy behind your endzone also graces your state's license plates.

3. You have backwards ass weather.

BYU: LaVell Edwards Stadium

2007-01-27T22:22:00.000-05:00

Easily the most ridiculously beautiful stadium I've ever seen. The setting right up against the mountains is unbelievable. The grass in the stadium is meticulous and it was just really pleasant all around. I just really don't have anything else to say except how visually amazing the whole set up was here.

Google Map of LaVell Edwards Stadium

Indiana: Memorial Stadium

2007-01-27T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ohio State fans know this as a second home since it isn't much more than a few hours drive from a lot of places in Ohio. The stadium seats a little less than 60,000, but it seems bigger than that. It's a pretty vanilla stadium, apparently similar to the one at Wake Forest and Virginia, but their press box is pretty impressive. I'm not sure whether or not that's sad, but I am sure that "The Rock" is sad. Terry Hoeppner placed it behind the endzone opposite the scoreboard as a new tradition. It has to be one of the saddest things I've seen in a stadium. Its Charlie Brown Christmas Tree sad.

Google Map of Memorial Stadium

Louisville: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium

2007-01-27T21:02:00.000-05:00

It's bad enough that above the pretty cool scoreboard/museum structure that there is also a giant light up sign that says "The 'Ville" - apparently they also refer to the stadium as "The Oven". I was actually pretty impressed with how nice the stadium was. Its kind of tough to find as the signage around town is non-existent, as well as you might find some trouble coming from the north from the unmarked Indiana State Police. $148 worth of trouble if you are going between 11 and 15 miles above the speed limit. UNITAS!!!

Google Map of Cardinal Stadium

South Florida: Raymond James Stadium

2007-01-18T19:16:00.000-05:00

Another stadium that doubles for both the pro sector (Tampa Bay) as well as the South Florida Bulls. South Florida spent the first half century plus of college football not even being in existence. The NCAA thought it best to punish them by putting them into Conference USA and then "promoting" them to the Big East recently. I saw the stadium when I went to Florida to see a wedding in 2005. In order to show my utter disrespect to other Florida schools, I actually did want this to be the first Florida school I saw. Unfortunately, no pictures.

Google Map of Raymond James Stadium

Pittsburgh: Heinz Field

2007-01-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Pitt Panthers abandoned their on campus field, Pitt Stadium, after the 1999 season to play where the Steelers play. That, today, is Heinz Field located in downtown Pittsburgh. The field was all ready to go for Pitt's Spring Game happening this Saturday, and it wasn't as locked down as I had initially thought it would be. The guy at the team shop seemed to think that I would need to ask permission from the office, but I was pretty excited to open the gate up and simply waltz in and right onto the field. I still think, though, that it is really lame to co-opt a pro team's field. So take that Pitt.

Google Map of Heinz Field

Kent State: Dix Stadium

2007-01-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

Obviously one of the most unfortunately named stadiums in these contiguous United States, Dix Stadium is also one of the more unfortunate fields in Ohio. The "stadium" was opened in 1969 and has as of yet still not sold out for a game. If anyone is suprised that the Golden Flashes cannot fill a 30,000 seat stadium, then I have some good news for you: Kent State plans on removing the seats from the North and South end of the field in order to shrink its size down a bit. The visiting side of the field was also the same seating capacity as that of my high school soccer field. The place is a dump, and to be honest, I don't know how Kent St. manages to continue on as a Div. I-A football team. I would imagine that renaming the stadium should be first on the list of things to do rather than shrinking its seating capacity, but I'm also lucky to be holding a bachelor's degree.

Google Map of Dix Stadium (trust me).

Miami University: Yager Stadium

2007-01-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

It's almost as if Miami University wasn't quite sure what to do with their football field, so they decided to kind of hide it in the woods outside of their college town. It's kind of awkwardly placed in I think what is best described as a "grove", even if I'm not completely sure if I can define the word "grove" for you. But what is kind of cool are all of the improvements that they have made on the stadium. They have a "Cradle of Coaches" dedication to all of the legendary coaches who's careers passed through the school.

I fixed the name mistake at the outset of this post, but I will not take the "grove" label back. I will though take some pictures here in the near future to honor all those Deadspin alum that have come before me...

Cradle of Coaches Information

Ohio University: Peden Stadium

2007-01-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

Peden Stadium is called the "Wrigley Field of College Football" which doesn't make all that much sense to me. I have never been inside of it, and it's kind of nice looking set among some trees and such, but I don't know about it being the Wrigley Field of College Football. Maybe if by "Wrigley Field" they mean "Old and Mostly Average" then they're right. It is kind of cool that they built it originally for $185,000. We saw this on our way home from a wedding that we went to in Marietta, OH in 2005.

Washington: Husky Stadium

2007-01-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

At the end of June in 2005, my wife and I took our honeymoon to Seattle and took the opportunity to drive by the University of Washington. It's a pretty cool part of the town, but the stadium is able to be viewed from a little causeway that takes you out of Seattle into Bellevue where all the rich people live. The open end of the stadium is out toward Union Bay and it's probably one of the best placed stadiums I've seen.

Google Map of Husky Stadium

Nebraska: Memorial Stadium

2007-01-14T17:23:00.000-05:00

I went to Memorial Stadium in April of 2006. I did it on the way to Las Vegas with Wuske. We couldn't get in here, total lock down. Also unfortunately the pictures were developed poorly by the folks at a photo store who's name I will not mention, but rhymes with "Sallgreen's".

Google Map of Memorial Stadium

As a side note, we also ate at the BW-3's in downtown Lincoln and it was as sad as you would expect it to be.

Google Map of Memorial Stadium

Ohio State: The Horseshoe

2007-01-14T17:21:00.000-05:00

I visited the Horseshoe for the first time in 2002. I went to the first game of that year the Buckeyes played against Texas Tech. It was Maurice Clarett's first game, and the first game of their most recent National Championship. Since that time, I have returned for two games (Indiana in 2004 and Northwestern in 2005) and one time just for pictures.

Google Map of Ohio Stadium

Project 119 Questions and Answers

2007-01-14T17:10:00.000-05:00

Project 119 began as nothing more than a photo journal for me to use in lieu of an awful memory. It is a collection of pictures and stories from the road as I try to see all 120 Division I-A football stadiums before I turn 30. For the record, that will be October 1st, 2013 giving me some time to finish. Below are some Frequently Asked Questions that people tend to have. If you have any others, please send them...

So, you're independently wealthy, right? Or at least your parents are paying for this...
Wrong on both accounts. I'm just a regular guy making enough money to sink nearly all of it into what I love: College Football. I'm married, but don't have any kids or real grown up responsibilities yet, and that's why I want to finish by the time I'm 30.

Why do this the way you're doing it? Wouldn't it be more accurate an experience to see a game at every stadium?
It would be much better to see a game at every stadium, and I would in fact prefer to do this. Problem is, I don't want this to take over 10 years, and the literal thousands of dollars involved to pull that off. If you're interested in seeing someone who IS trying to do that, go visit the Ultimate Football Project. This guy's a better man than I.

What are the parameters around this?
Initially I just wanted to get close enough to a place that I could at least see some advertisements or something. That little rule was just in order to make sure I didn't just drive through a town and count it. So a few of those really early trips still exist, but the vast majority of the schools I've visited include pictures from the field. Only a few schools keep their places extremely locked down.

Do you do media stuff?
Absolutely. The Wiz of Odds was the first to promote us, and there have been a few more since. Some of these include Sirius Satellite Radio, Deadspin, Channel 15 News in Champaign, CBS Sportsline, the Dallas-Fort Worth Star, and an English language Newspaper in Beijing. There have been others, and if I missed you, sorry.