Yager Stadium

Introduction

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Yager Stadium replaced Miami Field in 1983 and is home to the Miami University Redhawks football program. Miami University competes in the Mid-American Conference in NCAA Division I, and the stadium is often referred to as the "Cradle of Coaches" given the many Miami University coaches who led the program before going on to storied careers at larger college football programs and professional teams. Miami Field, the previous facility for the university, dated back to the late 19th century but was deemed insufficient as university leaders held ambitions of growing their program beyond the fourteen thousand fans who could attend games. Yager Stadium is named in honor of a prominent donor who helped the university construct this modern facility which can hold over twenty-four thousand.

Images

Cradle of Coaches

2018 Graduation

Miami Redhawks website photo of stadium

View of Yager Stadium and Cradle of Coaches

Backstory and Context

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Miami University completed this stadium in 1983 and has embraced the moniker "Cradle Of Coaches" since that time. Yager Stadium is home to the Miami Redhawks, a team that competes in the East Division of the Mid American Conference. Among the notable players who have competed on the field for the Redhawks during the years when Yager Stadium was in use include Ben Roethlisberger and 2015 second round draft pick Quinten Rollins. However, Miami is more known for the men on the sideline than players on the field, with legendary coaches like Paul Brown, Bo Schembechler, and John Harbaugh all spending time as coaches at Miami University.

The entrance to the stadium includes a brick foundation with four beams holding a collage of nine former coaches, the Miami “M," and the words "Cradle Of Coaches. The nine coaches enshrined on this stadium collage are Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, Earl Blaik, Paul Dietzel, Carm Cozza ,John Pon and the newest member John Harbaugh. All of these coaches achieved success in NCAA College Football and the National Football League.

Inside the stadium is a 25,000 fan capacity has two main seating areas on both sidelines and on the home side has a coaches and media booth. The end zone with the Cradle of Coaches entrance has no seating and the opposite end zone has a small amount of seating. The field is green Field Turf with red end zones with MIAMI written in white with Black outline. The red Miami M is in the middle facing the home team side.

Miami University has a strong ROTC program and their building is near the stadium. Before the games the Miami University ROTC color guard program presents the colors. The largest crowd to date occurred on October 2, 1999 when the Thundering Herd of Marshall defeated the Miami Redhawks 35-14. The record setting crowd of 30,087 was made possible through accommodating many visiting fans and offering seating in the south endzone which was later removed. The stadium also hosts special events and the university commencement ceremony.

Sources

Miami University Libraries. The Cradle of Coaches: A Legacy of Excellence, Miami University Special Collections. January 1st 2013. Accessed August 5th 2020. https://spec.lib.miamioh.edu/cradleofcoaches/.

Miami University Athletics, Yager Stadium Guide. https://miamiredhawks.com/sports/2018/6/7/facilities-yager-stadium-guide-15-html.aspx Accessed July 27th 2020

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.miamistudent.net/multimedia/cradle-of-coaches

https://miamioh.edu/news/top-stories/2019/05/commencement-2019.html

https://miamiredhawks.com/sports/2018/6/7/facilities-yager-stadium-guide-15-html.aspx

https://www.communitypro.com/news/press-releases/new-audio-system-adds-excitement-yager-stadium