will likely think and feel in the locker rooms and on the field. They’ll want to see their faces on the Wessel Scoreboard video screen and hear their names announced, and gain a keen sense of the deep history of ACU’s football program, which dates back to 1919. He knows it’s what he would have enjoyed back when it was his turn to don the purple and white. “You can’t have gone down the path I’ve gone down and come back here to work on this project and not have a sense of pride about it,” Cagle says. The countdown continues to the stadium’s first on-campus home game Sept. 16, 2017, against Houston Baptist University, as does final fundraising for the facility. Naming opportunities are available, such as for seats, at wildcatstadium.com. The north side of campus already has been dramatically transformed as the five-story tower housing
sense of pride “That is starting to build
in the student body and among alumni. It’s time to take ownership and say, ‘This is our house. That’s our name on the field. This is ours.’ ” – SEAN CAGLE
the club, suite and press levels redefines the horizon in northeast Abilene. In October, it was announced that thanks to an additional $3 million gift from the Halberts, the tower would be named for David D. Halbert’s best friend and former ACU all-America defensive back, the late Chuck Sitton (’78). The gift speaks to not only Halbert’s friendship with Sitton, but
to the nature of ACU’s community and the relationships forged during each student’s time on the Hill. It’s the kind of community its members return to, whether to build a stadium or simply enjoy it come Fall 2017. Cagle says he’s encouraged by what he sees and hears around campus and in the community about Wildcat Stadium. As it rises into the West Texas sky and becomes a landmark along Ambler Avenue, expectations for ACU football’s new home are just as large. “That sense of pride is starting to build in the student body and among alumni,” Cagle says. “It’s time to take ownership and say, ‘This is our house. That’s our name on the field. This is ours.’ ”
To leave your mark on Wildcat Stadium and help us cross the goal line, visit wildcatstadium.com.
ACU TODAY
Winter-Spring 2017
19