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2011 Furman Paladins Paladin Stadium F urman's Paladin Stadium, nestled beautifully on campus with a scenic view of Paris Mountain, is the football home of the Paladins, having opened in 1981 to replace Sirrine Sta- dium, which served as the site of Furman football for 45 years. The stadium, which features 16,000 permanent seats, origi- nally was constructed to accommodate 13,200 spectators. Prior to the 1985 season, 2,800 additional seats were added, giving the stadium its current capacity. Paladin Stadium is the third home of Furman football since 1919. Manly Field, completed in that year, served as the home of Furman football until 1936, when Furman moved the site of its football contests to then-newly constructed Sirrine Stadium. The first game played in Sirrine Stadium — a 14-13 Furman win over Davidson — was the sixth game of the year for Furman during the 1936 season. In 1980, Furman closed its association with Sirrine Stadium with a 28-15 victory over arch-rival The Citadel to win its first outright Southern Conference football championship. Furman opened Paladin Stadium in the same fashion it did Manly and Sirrine, winning the first game played within its confines. The Paladins defeated East Tennessee State, 21-0, in the stadium's inaugural contest and in a quarter century of play have gone on to record a 148-39-1 (.790 winning percentage) home record, claiming 10 Southern Conference championships and the 1988 NCAA I-AA (FCS) national championship along the way. In 1985 the stadium's field was named Eugene Stone Field in honor of Stone, who was directly responsible for the additional seats added to the stadium prior to the 1985 season. In 2009 the university added a new 13x32 video board and scoreboard. PALADIN STADIUM FACTS Year Opened: ...............................1981 Seating Capacity: ........................16,000 First Game: ..................................Furman 21, East Tennessee State 0 September 19, 1981 (Attendance: 12,070) First Furman Victory: .................Furman 21, East Tennessee State 0 September 19, 1981 First Furman Defeat: ..................Chattanooga 31, Furman 28 October 2, 1981 First Touchdown: ........................Stanford Jennings 1 run vs. East Tennessee State — 3:59-1Q First PAT: ......................................Tim Tanguay vs. East Tennessee State — 3:59-1Q First Field Goal: ...........................Tim Tanguay 23 FG vs. Chattanooga — 5:43-1Q Longest Win Streak: ...................17, (Oct. 31, 1987 — Dec. 2, 1989) Longest SoCon Win Streak: .......14, (Nov. 21, 1998 — Oct. 19, 2002) Most Combined Points: ..............101, (Furman 52, Elon 49 — Nov. 3, 2007) Largest Home Crowd: .................19,058 (Furman 22, Appalachian Sate 18) October 10, 1981 Stadium Record: .........................148-39-1 (.790) in 30 seasons FURMAN'S TOP CROWDS IN PALADIN STADIUM Attendance Season Opponent Date Score 19,058 ................1981 ..............Appalachian State............................... Oct. 10 ................22-18 W 18,617 ................1986 ..............Presbyterian ....................................... Nov. 1 ................45-31 W 18,190 ................1990 ..............The Citadel .......................................... Nov. 17 ................30-17 W 17,145 ................2004 ..............Georgia Southern................................ Nov. 6 ................29-22 W 17,001 ................1989 ..............East Tennessee State ........................... Nov. 11 ................44-20 W 16,579 ................1991 ..............Chattanooga ....................................... Nov. 16 ................24-21 W 16,464 ................1992 ..............The Citadel .......................................... Nov. 21 ................. 14-20 L 16,460 ................1988 ..............The Citadel .......................................... Nov. 19 ................30-17 W 16,125 ................1991 ..............Marshall ............................................. Oct. 12 ................. 35-38 L 15,794 ................2002 ..............Georgia Southern................................ Nov. 9 ................. 21-41 L 46 Team From initial grading to completion, Paladin Stadium took two years to be realized at a cost of approximately two million dollars. Construction was by Farley Construction of Columbia. The playing field is hybrid Bermuda and landscaping at the stadium is in line with the design and architecture of the entire university. Appalachian State ...............15 .........9 ........ 6 ........ 0 .......... .600 .............394 ............... 330 Boston University ..........................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................35 .....................16 Carson-Newman ...........................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................52 .......................7 Central Florida ...............................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................42 .......................6 Chattanooga .......................15 .......11 ........ 4 ........ 0 .......... .733 .............464 ............... 332 The Citadel ..........................15 .......12 ........ 3 ........ 0 .......... .800 .............474 ............... 266 Coastal Carolina .............................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................27 .....................17 Colgate ..........................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................45 .....................15 Connecticut ...................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................26 .....................17 Davidson .......................................4........... 4 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 .................235 .....................24 Delaware .......................................2........... 2 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................44 .....................28 East Tennessee State ...................12......... 11 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .916 .................407 ...................225 Eastern Kentucky ...........................1........... 0 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .000 ...................10 .....................23 Elon ..................................... 9 .........7 ........ 2 ........ 0 .......... .778 .............312 ............... 142 Gardner-Webb ..............................2........... 2 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................93 .....................31 Georgia Southern ................10 .........4 ........ 6 ........ 0 .......... .400 .............210 ............... 244 Hofstra ..........................................2........... 1 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .500 ...................68 .....................72 Howard .........................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................56 .....................14 Idaho.............................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................38 .......................7 Jacksonville State ..........................2........... 2 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................66 .....................20 James Madison .............................2........... 1 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .500 ...................30 .....................24 Lehigh ...........................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................34 .....................17 Liberty ..........................................3........... 3 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 .................100 .....................34 Marshall ........................................8........... 6 ..........2 ..........0 ............. .750 .................234 ...................134 Mars Hill ........................................2........... 2 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................96 .....................24 Massachusetts ...............................1........... 0 ..........1 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................23 .....................30 Nevada ..........................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................35 .....................12 Newberry ......................................4........... 3 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .750 .................156 .....................41 Nicholls State ................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................14 .....................12 Presbyterian ................................11......... 11 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 .................490 ...................144 Rhode Island .................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................59 .....................15 Richmond......................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................31 .....................17 Samford ............................... 3 .........3 ........ 0 ........ 0 ........ 1.000 .............105 ................. 71 South Carolina State ......................8........... 7 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .875 .................204 .....................94 Stephen F. Austin ..........................1........... 0 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .000 ...................19 .....................21 VMI .............................................10......... 10 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 .................436 .....................96 Western Carolina .................16 .......11 ........ 5 ........ 0 .......... .688 .............445 ............... 261 West Georgia .................................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................24 .......................7 Western Kentucky .........................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................24 .....................20 William & Mary .............................3........... 2 ..........1 ..........0 ............. .667 ...................84 .....................44 Wofford ...............................11 .........8 ........ 2 ........ 1 .......... .773 .............348 ............... 142 Youngstown State .........................1........... 1 ..........0 ..........0 ........... 1.000 ...................42 .....................23 TOTALS ..............................188 .....148 .......39 ........ 1 ........... 790 .......... 6,135 .............3,119 FURMAN VS. OPPONENTS IN PALADIN STADIUM G W L T .Pct FU OPP Southern Conference Champion — 1978, '80, 81, '82, '83, '85, '88, '89, '90, '99, '01, '04 Furman has posted a 148-39-1 record in Paladin Stadium and has won 10 Southern Conference championships and the 1988 NCAA I-AA national championship since the facility opened in 1981.