Fans Cheer Robinson-Hale Stadium Renovation Plans

Mississippi College football fans cheering on the Choctaws this fall will also notice big improvements at Robinson-Hale Stadium.

Construction began in May and continues over the summer for the stadium’s “Circle of Champions” project. In essence, it will signal a facelift for the front entrance of the 8,500-seat stadium.

New iron fencing, a new ticket booth and entrance gate will be key parts of the campaign that will also feature a new entry driveway featuring modern brickwork. Names of the dozen donors contributing to the Circle of Champions will be inscribed on pieces of granite on the driveway outside the football stadium on the Clinton campus.

The Christian university’s biggest athletic boosters to the Circle of Champions project will be recognized during half-time of the Choctaws’ Homecoming football game in October.

MC Vice President for Advancement Bill Townsend says leaders hope to raise up to $300,000 for the project that may span two phases.

Construction is on track to be completed before the Choctaws open the 2011 season at home with the Millsaps Majors. The annual Backyard Brawl between the two Jackson metro rivals is set for Saturday September 3 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Robinson-Hale Stadium opened in 1985. The eighth-largest football facility in NCAA Division III ranks, the MC stadium underwent major renovations five years ago that included the installation of a state-of-the art synthetic playing surface and a new track named after Dr. James Parkman.

The latest renovations are also impressive, university leaders say.

“I’m very proud to be part of the stadium renovations at Mississippi College,” says Mississippi College trustee and businessman Robert Watson, co-chairman of the Circle of Champions campaign.

Mississippi College “provides a nurturing environment for young people in academia and athletics,” said Watson, owner and general manager of Watson Quality Ford, Inc. in Jackson. “The renovation of Robinson-Hale Stadium is just another step in maintaining the high standards we expect from MC.”

Watson, who co-chairs the campaign with MC trustee Don Phillips, said it was “easy for me” to step forward when asked to support Mississippi College. “Look around the campus,” he said. “We are on the move.”

The salute to the team of Circle of Champions donors comes during Homecoming festivities when MC leaders plan to announce they’ve reached the $80 million “Growing the Vision” campaign to enhance academics, scholarships, facilities and the university’s endowment.

The improvements are coming for an NCAA Division III stadium that trumpets two men who helped establish the Mississippi College football tradition that dates back to 1907. Stanley L. Robinson devoted 36 years of service to MC as head coach and athletic director. Edwin “Goat” Hale was a powerful football legend in Choctaw circles. The star offensive back was the first back in Mississippi history named to the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

Edward McMillan, a retired MC vice president for graduate studies, seldom misses Choctaws home games. He can’t wait to see the stadium’s new look out front in early September.

“I remember when the stadium was constructed in the 1980s,” McMillan said when reached by phone at his home in Clinton. In addition to the Parkman track, the synthetic turf and other changes, the new improvements to the front entrance are fitting for one of the American Southwest Conference’s top teams, said the 1950 Mississippi College graduate.

Other loyal Choctaws fans are pumped about the stadium renovations. “It will be one of the top facilities in NCAA Division III,” says Doc Quick, a retired MC administrator and Clinton resident who’s a regular at MC athletic contests. “It will put a new face on
MC’s football stadium. It will be attractive.”

In 2009, the Choctaws, led by Coach Norman Joseph, finished as the ASC champs and went to post-season NCAA play for the first time since 1991. The Choctaws slipped to 4-6 last season following an injury to star running back Steven Knight. But with Knight healthy again in 2011 and back in the starting lineup, MC expects to return as one of the ASC’s premier football teams.

Coach Joseph joins the MC fans excited about the stadium improvements.

"We have the best stadium in our conference, and this will put us in a category nationally at the top or among the top in the USA,'' in NCAA Division III, Joseph said. "It will be a real showpiece.''

Joseph also commended the hard work by MC athletic director Mike Jones to make this project a reality. "He's done a marvelous job.''

In his sixth season at the helm of the Choctaws, Joseph expects the construction will be finished on time so MC can gear up for its home opener with Millsaps.  “The clock is on.”

Fans will get several opportunities to see the Robinson-Hale Stadium improvements up-close. The 2011 schedule also includes home games against Hardin-Simmons on September 17, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on October 8, Howard Payne on October 22, and closes out with Texas Lutheran on November 5.

For more information on the Circle of Champions campaign, contact MC Athletic Director Mike Jones at 601.925.3819 or jones01@mc.edu or Vice President for Advancement Bill Townsend at 601.925.3256 or BTownsen@mc.edu.