Memorial Stadium

Right now, you’re standing before a true Nebraska legend: Memorial Stadium, home of so many dreams, more than a few heartbreaks, and so many red-clad fans, they’ve earned the nickname “The Sea of Red.” Imagine, back in the 1920s, the University of Nebraska needed a new stadium because the old wooden Nebraska Field just couldn’t handle the crowds—or the excitement. After World War I, energy and ambition ran high; people across Nebraska scraped together funds, some even following the campaign’s motto: “give until it hurts.” You can almost picture students and faculty running pledges across the state, county by county, everyone wanting to help build something extraordinary. Construction kicked off in 1923, sometimes amid rainstorms and even an August tornado, but nothing was going to keep Nebraskans from their football. On October 13, 1923, Memorial Stadium opened—though with a slightly unfinished upper deck and a field made of dirt, not grass. That first game? Nebraska blasted Oklahoma 24–0, with fans not allowed in the upper sections (you know, health and safety even in the roaring twenties!). Soon after, the stadium was formally dedicated, honoring those Nebraskans who fought and fell in the Civil War, Spanish–American War, and World War I. Powerful words by philosophy professor Hartley Burr Alexander, etched in stone on each corner, still stand: “Not the victory but the action; not the goal but the game; in the deed the glory.” The stadium grew right along with college football fever. At first, just two grandstands—the original east and west superstructure, still hiding in there under all that new construction. In the 1960s, the horseshoe design took shape, more end zones were closed in, bleachers expanded, and by the 1970s, Memorial Stadium could welcome over 70,000 fans. Press boxes were improved—bye-bye, shoebox-sized reporter cave!—and the stadium was illuminated for the first time with portable lights so Nebraska fans could experience the thrill of a victory under the night sky. Eventually, those lights were permanent, because, of course, the party never really ends in Lincoln. Through the decades, capacity swelled to a jaw-dropping 85,458—sometimes more with a squeeze! But if you’ve heard the phrase, “sold out game,” you’re at the place that redefined it: since 1962, Nebraska has sold out 406 straight home games—a record for any sport in NCAA history. People here are so passionate, I’m convinced if a stray ball lands in the bleachers, half the crowd will volunteer to give it mouth-to-mouth. The loyalty’s legendary. Even when times got tough, and the team wasn’t always on top, Nebraskans found a way to keep the “sellout streak” alive—sometimes giving tickets away to donors and sponsors just so every seat would have a cheering fan. But it’s not just football. In 2023, Memorial Stadium was home to Volleyball Day in Nebraska—92,003 fans showed up, the biggest crowd ever at a women’s sporting event anywhere on earth. Imagine the thunder of that many voices echoing off these stands! As for traditions, every home game starts with the famous “Tunnel Walk”—fans chanting “Husker” on one side, “Power” on the other, as the team storms the field to the Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius.” (If you feel your heartbeat quicken, don’t worry, it happens to everyone!) And for decades, anytime Nebraska scored their first points, the sky would fill with red balloons—unless helium happened to be in short supply, or the environment needed a break. The stadium’s hosted farm aid concerts, comedians, and Garth Brooks—even making an appearance in movies and TV, like Tommy Lee going to college, or Jim Carrey rooting for the Huskers. Today, the field’s state-of-the-art synthetic turf, but rumor has it, grass is making a comeback soon. As for upgrades? Engineers keep busy—bigger seats, better Wi-Fi, new video boards, and luxury boxes—making sure the old bones of 1923 feel just as mighty today as they did at kickoff. If you stand here in the wind, maybe you’ll hear echoes of every pass, every touchdown, every heart-in-mouth moment. Soak it up—the stories and the cheers of a hundred years live right here in “The Sea of Red.” And remember: Not the victory, but the action; not the goal, but the game!