Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium

The 2020 season is the 90th anniversary of the opening of Skelly Field at H .A . Chapman Stadium . The stadium first opened in 1930 as Skelly Field, later was named Skelly Stadium and in April 2007 received the name of H .A . Chapman Stadium . The stadium underwent a major facelift in the summer of 2008 and on September 20, 2008, Tulsa opened the renovated stadium with a 56-14 victory over New Mexico .

On April 24, 2007, it was announced that the University of Tulsa had received the naming gift for renovation of the football stadium .

The H .A . and Mary K . Chapman Trust provided the financial gift for half of the estimated cost for renovation of the H .A . Chapman Stadium . Trustees of the H .A . and Mary K . Chapman Trust are Donne Pitman and Jerry Dickman .

Following the 2007 football season, a complete renovation of H .A . Chapman Stadium began .

The stadium renovation included new seating throughout the stadium, restrooms, concession areas, new press box with luxury suites and club level seating, and a new scoreboard on the south side of the stadium, among other amenities . A new FieldTurf was installed in April 2008, and again in 2013 and prior to the 2017 season .

The steel structure on the stadium’s west side was removed, substantially improving the aesthetics of the facility . The structure on the west side has an exterior finish of pre-cast concrete panels trimmed with cast stone . This returns the façade to the original architecture of the stadium, keeping the traditional look and feel of other campus structures . The stadium now has a capacity of 30,000 .

When the stadium was first constructed in 1930 it was originally named Skelly Field, but was changed to Skelly Stadium in 1947 when 5,000 seats were added to north end zone . Now, Skelly Field at H .A . Chapman Stadium celebrates its 90th anniversary .

Opening Skelly Field was a dream come true for Coach Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson . Before Tulsa played its home games in Skelly Field the Golden Hurricane used McNulty Park, the minor league stadium that was the forerunner of Oiler Park . McNulty was located near the corner of 11th street and Elgin .

An unprecedented wave of prosperity swept over America in 1928 and wealthy Tulsa oil men began listening to Henderson’s dream . The trustees were proceeding with plans for a stadium on faith that a donor would appear . In April, 1930, William Skelly, a long-time friend of the University, gave $125,000 to the stadium fund if another $175,000 could be raised . The remaining money was raised by Tulsa businessmen who organized the Stadium Corporation of Tulsa .

Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on May 11, 1930 and the race was on to complete the stadium for the upcoming season .

Skelly Field opened on October 4, 1930 against Arkansas . Records show that 13,000 spectators were on hand for the game .

On the opening kickoff of that inaugural game, Arkansas fumbled and end Johnny Potts recovered for Tulsa . On Tulsa’s first play from scrimmage, Billy Boehm scored the first touchdown in the north end zone of the stadium . Later, Chet Benefiel scored the first touchdown in the south end zone . Tulsa went on to win the contest by a score of 26-6 .

Since that day, some of college football’s greatest stars have graced Skelly Field . Opponents the likes of Sammy Baugh, Ollie Matson, Bob Fenimore, Walt Garrison, Gino Toretta, Keith Jackson and Ladainian Tomlinson are a few of the games’ greatest to step on the Skelly Field turf .

Tulsa’s own Glenn Dobbs in the 1940s, the passing combination of Heisman Trophy runners-up Jerry Rhome and Howard Twilley in the 1960s, future NFL receiving greats Steve Largent and Drew Pearson in the 70s, the 1980s Palomino Express of Micheal Gunter and Ken Lacy and the stars from the 1991 Freedom Bowl Championship team thrilled Hurricane fans through the years .

In 2003, Tulsa’s Humanitarian Bowl team excited fans by averaging over 37 points in six home games, while in the 75th anniversary year of Skelly Field the 2005 squad won the Conference USA Championship and advanced to a second bowl game in three years .

The 2016 season saw the Tulsa football team post an undefeated 6-0 home record and the school’s season of 10+ wins .

The highest attended game in stadium history was 47,350 on September 26, 1987 against No . 1 — ranked Oklahoma .