College football stadiums are often considered hallowed grounds. In some ways, more than you think.
Among the oldest standing athletic structures across the country, college stadiums have their own unique history outside the box score.
Here are five stadiums that contain or are located near actual graveyards:
Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium
Evergreen Cemetery, which dates back to the mid-1830s, sits across from Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium south end zone.
The Tide’s house was built in 1929 and has undergone several renovations since, leaving the cemetery undisturbed.
No Alabama players are buried there, the only name connected to the Tide is Eugene Allen Smith, a former geologist and scholar who helped launch the football program.
Clemson’s Memorial Stadium
Clemson’s Memorial Stadium is popularly known as “Death Valley,” but here's one tradition that takes it to another level.
The Tigers erect tombstones to a “"graveyard” of ranked teams it defeats on the road each year. Four new tombstones were installed this year following victories over No. 12 Florida State, No. 23 Virginia Tech, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff championship game.
Georgia’s Sanford Stadium
Credit: Jessica McGowan
Credit: Jessica McGowan
Georgia’s Uga mascots first took the field in 1956. Sanford Stadium is the final resting place of each deceased English Bulldog that has served as the team’s mascot. The mausoleum includes an epitaph of their tenure. The mausoleum has been moved twice since 1981 to its current location near Gate 9 of Sanford Stadium.
Oklahoma’s Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium
Credit: Brett Deering
Credit: Brett Deering
Before UGA patrolled the Georgia sidelines at Sanford Stadium in a “G” sweater, Oklahoma had a terrier puppy named Mex who would bark after every score in a red sweater with an “O.” Following Mex’s death in 1928, he was buried in a small casket under the Sooners’ playing field.
Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium
Credit: Michael Chang
Credit: Michael Chang
Mississippi State’s Bully mascot has been a tradition since the 1930s. The first Bully was killed by a campus bus in 1939. He was buried under the bench at the 50-yard line at what was then-called Scott Field. The ashes of former Bullys have been spread at Davis Wade Stadium, but Bully I is the only mascot interred on stadium grounds.
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