Homer Bryce Stadium

The Lumberjacks have made Homer Bryce Stadium one of the toughest places for opponents to play. SFA has posted a 19-3 (.864) record at home in the last three seasons.

The ’Jacks ushered in a new era in 2003 with the addition of luxury suites and the Touchdown Club located in the remodeled press box. The suites and Touchdown Club continue to be a big hit.

Prior to the start of the 2013 season, SFA replaced the surface at Homer Bryce Stadium. During the summer, a Hellas’ Matrix Turf was installed. The surface includes more color than the previous turf. It consists of purple end zones with white lettering. The north end zone will have “Stephen F. Austin” and the south “Lumberjacks” with the new SFA logo at the 50-yard line.

Prior to the press box renovation, the last major renovation was the addition of a new wing to the field house, located at the north end of the stadium.

The east wing of the field house is a two-story structure housing football offices and meeting rooms on the top floor and visitor dressing rooms on the ground floor.

Lumberjack Stadium, as it was first called, opened in time for the 1973 season with 14,575 seats, all between the 20-yard lines. The bowl-type construction of the stadium also affords blanket seating on the steep grassy banks that surround the field, increasing capacity to more than 25,000. In fact, the largest crowd to ever see a football game in the stadium was listed as 23,617 when the Lumberjacks took on McNeese State in 1995.

The ’Jacks defeated Cameron University 17-0 in the first game played in the stadium on Sept. 8, 1973, and have gone on to post a 138-96-2 (.589) record in the facility. SFA also is 4-1 in postseason play in the stadium.

In 1986, the stadium was renamed Homer Bryce Stadium in honor of SFA benefactor Homer Bryce. Bryce’s association with SFA began in the 1930s when he attended the school as a student and ran track for the Lumberjacks. He served as a member of the SFA Board of Regents from 1974 until his retirement in 1994. Bryce passed away in July 1996.

The stadium also is one of the top track and field facilities in East Texas. During the summer of 2006, the track surface was replaced with a state-of-the-art Tartan polyurethane surface. The 400-meter track surface meets all NCAA and IAAF requirements. Prior to the 2007 season, SFA remodeled the football locker room. SFA replaced the carpet, added more lockers and installed four flatscreen, high-definition televisions.

The artificial playing surface has made an impact on SFA and Nacogdoches. Homer Bryce Stadium is the host to numerous high school football playoff games and marching band contests involving East Texas public schools. The stadium has also hosted the Region III Class A Track and Field meet. Three times in the past 13 years SFA and Homer Bryce Stadium hosted the SLC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Lumberjacks will play five home games at Homer Bryce Stadium this fall.