Michie Stadium

Michie Stadium /ˈmaɪki/ is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. The home field for the Army Black Knights, it opened 97 years ago in 1924 and has a current seating capacity of 38,000.[2]

Michie Stadium
Hosting Air Force in November 2008
Michie Stadium
Location within the State of New York
Michie Stadium
Location within the United States
Full nameBlaik Field at Michie Stadium
Location700 Mills Road
West Point, New York, U.S.
Coordinates41°23′15″N 73°57′51″W
OwnerU.S. Military Academy
OperatorU.S. Military Academy
Capacity38,000[1]
SurfaceFieldTurf (2008–present)
AstroPlay (2001–2007)
AstroTurf (1977–2000)
Grass (1924–1976)
Construction
Broke ground1924
Opened1924, 97 years ago
Expanded1962: east grandstand
1969: west upper deck
2003: press box
Construction cost$300,000
Tenants
Army Black Knights (NCAA) (1924–present)
Website
Michie Stadium

The stadium sits at the upper portion of campus, directly west of Lusk Reservoir. The field is at an elevation of 335 feet (102 m) above sea level and runs in the traditional north–south configuration, with the press box above the west sideline. Due to the view offered by its location overlooking the Hudson River and the Neo-Gothic architecture of the campus below, it was rated as Sports Illustrated's #3 sports venue of the 20th century.[3]

Overview

Dennis Michie

Michie Stadium is dedicated to the memory of Dennis Michie (1870–1898), who was instrumental in starting the football program while a cadet at the Academy. A member of the Class of 1892, Michie organized, managed, and coached the first football team at West Point in 1890. Six years after graduation, he was killed in Cuba during the Spanish–American War. There have been several renovations since the stadium's first game in October 1924, when Army defeated Saint Louis, 17–0.

Blaik Field

In 1999, the football field at Michie Stadium was named Blaik Field on September 25, in honor of Earl "Red" Blaik, the head coach at West Point from 1941 to 1958. Blaik led Army to three consecutive national titles from 1944 to 1946.

Playing surface

Since 2008, the playing surface has been FieldTurf. This replaced AstroPlay, which had been used since 2001. The stadium's playing field was natural grass until AstroTurf was installed in 1977.[2]

Army–Navy Game

Michie Stadium first hosted the Army–Navy Game in 1943 during World War II, after it was played at Thompson Stadium at Annapolis the year before. Neither Army nor Navy had played at an on-campus facility since very early in the rivalry, since teams' home stadiums are not nearly large enough to accommodate the crowds and media that usually attend the rivalry games. Their rivalry game is normally played at a neutral site between the campuses on the East Coast, usually in Philadelphia in early December. In 2020, the Army–Navy Game was moved from Philadelphia to Michie Stadium due to state-imposed attendance limits on outdoor events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

  • Hoffman Press Box overlooks Blaik Field at Michie Stadium
  • The Black Knights enter Michie Stadium on game day
  • Michie Stadium from across the reservoir
  • 2008 – View Looking South into Hudson Valley
  • 2008 – View Looking North into Hudson Valley

See also

References
  1. "Blaik Field at Michie Stadium". Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  2. "Blaik Field at Michie Stadium". GoArmySports.com. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  3. "Century's Best - SI's Top 20 Venues of the 20th Century". Sports Illustrated. 1999-06-07. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  4. Associated Press (October 23, 2020). "Army-Navy game in December moves from Philadelphia to West Point". Philadelphia, PA: WPVI-TV. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
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