Then
The University of Texas (UT) was founded in 1883, and it took 10 years to start a football team; in 1924, the first football stadium was built. Students and alumni raised over $250,000 to fund the project. It was originally christened War Memorial Stadium to honor the 198,520 Texans who fought and 5,280 who died in World War I. With a 27,000-seating capacity, it was heralded as “the largest facility of its kind in the Southwest.” The official dedication happened on Thanksgiving of that year as the Longhorns beat A&M 7-0. The game required extra seating because it was watched by 35,000 people, leading to the first of many expansions to the stadium. Being state-of-the-art in 1924 meant there was a wooden scoreboard where numbers were changed manually to keep spectators up to date.
Now
As of November 2024, the stadium known as Darrell K Royal — Texas Memorial Stadium at Campbell — Williams Field is celebrating 100 years as the home of Texas football. During that time, it has undergone dozens of upgrades and expansions and now can seat over 100,000 fans. It is the 8th largest college football stadium in the country. If you want to experience all the stadium has to offer on game day, go early and walk up San Jacinto Boulevard that runs by the stadium — it gets closed off to vehicle traffic and is rechristened “Bevo Boulevard” for pregame activities that include live music, food carts, and games. There’s no such thing as a bad seat. The “Godzillatron” (one of the largest LED video screens in college football) makes it easy to see everything on the field. When the Longhorns play, fireworks and an instant-start, multi-color LED system excite your senses.
Eric Frans is a native Texan who has traveled around the world spreading the gospel of Texas across 5 continents.
