Alumni Stadium 50th Anniversary Feature

This story originally ran in February of 2020. At the time, a committee was planning the 50th Anniversary celebration of Alumni Stadium, scheduled for October 17, 2020 when the Guelph Gryphons were set to host the Carleton Ravens. These plans were put on hold because of the pandemic and the story has been updated accordingly.

In 1993, Bill Brown was a talented high school defensive back with a big decision ahead of him. The University of Guelph was on Brown’s radar and then head coach Pat Tracey was making a good recruiting pitch. But Brown also loved rugby and he just wasn’t sure where he would eventually go to university.

A trip to campus changed all that.

“The decision was made clear the moment I saw Alumni Stadium,” says Brown, who as a Gryphon went on to become a conference All-Star, a Yates Cup champion, a coach, and now the head of the program’s Advancement team. “The university was known for record-breaking fan attendance and school spirit. This was evident and only accentuated the first day I walked through the Gryphon Wall of Fame outlined by previous Wildman award winners as I stood under the roaring metal stands awaiting our team to be announced.

“I made the right decision. Alumni Stadium is always electric, and the atmosphere is one of the best in Canada.”

The Gryphon Football home was only a couple decades into its famed existence back in the early 1990s. And the 2020 campaign was supposed to mark a special milestone – 50 years in operation. For half a century, young men have come to Guelph and had the unique opportunity to represent their team, school, and community on the Alumni Stadium turf. It’s a place where incredible battles have been fought, like the 1984 Central Bowl win over the Calgary Dinosaurs that paved the way for Guelph’s historic Vanier Cup victory, or the epic come-from-behind playoff triumph over Queen’s in 2012.

The memories from thousands of past and current Gryphons are in abundance. And a detailed plan to celebrate the 50th anniversary on October 17, 2020 was in place. Unfortunately, the cancellation of the U SPORTS football season because of the COVID-19 pandemic derailed this special occasion. The hope is that a proper celebration can occur in 2021.

“The overall goal for this 50th anniversary celebration is to show, through a number of initiatives, the importance of the stadium to the University of Guelph, alumni, students, the community, and past football teams,” committee chair Bill Laidlaw, a rookie on the squad that helped usher in the Alumni Stadium era back in 1970, said back in February.

In the years leading up to that season, the University of Guelph was on the rise both academically and athletically. Regarding the latter, a premier venue that could house not just the football team but also a variety of varsity, intramural, and community-based teams became a necessity. The school purchased the land opposite the Cutten Club and University President Dr. William Winegard championed the cause,

making a passionate speech to the Board. Dr. Winegard’s words resonated and in 1969, construction began on the new 4,000-seat stadium. The $600,000 cost was offset with a Development Fund, gate receipts, and generous contributions from individuals and corporations, while the Alma Mata Fund also chipped in $20,000.

The end result was a thing of beauty. Alumni Stadium was the most modern football facility among all Ontario universities, with a locker room that could accommodate 80 players, meeting rooms for coaches, a large storage area, and a well-equipped training room. There was a sauna, visiting change rooms, and a multi-use room on the second floor that became a default dorm for rookies during training camp.

“As a rookie, I felt that I was entering a stadium in the CFL,” says Laidlaw, who admits he felt bad sneaking out of the sleeping area to catch the Clint Eastwood flick Two Mules for Sister Sara with a teammate that first year.

On October 17, 1970, Alumni Stadium opened its gates with team captain Steve Stewart and the head of the alumni association cutting the ribbon. And from that day, memories were made every game day when thousands of fans poured into the facility off of College Ave. The stadium has been an integral part of the lives of those who have called it home.

For Vanier Cup champion running back Jed Tommy, the place was simply “glorious.”

“At that time, I don’t think that the stadium was any less magnificent to the stakeholders on and surrounding the team,” says Tommy, a star on Guelph’s 1984 national champions. “It may as well have been Mercedes Benz Place. For a high school kid from a small market, when you first see it, if you’re hair didn’t stand up, the you were the wrong recruit. It was a big statement to me of where the passion lies for the game.

“It’s wonderful how it’s evolved but it was no less wonderful back in the day to us.”

Tommy recalls the endless hours of sweat and work as he and his teammates trained and lifted, following the guidance in the book “Strength Conditioning for Football” that was given to them by their legendary Guelph coach Tom Dimitroff. The Gryphons built their bodies and added core strength and coordination by playing handball in the available courts. Tommy says it’s where they became men. Most importantly, they conditioned their minds so they could perform at peak on game days, like when Calgary came to town in the national semi-final back in 1984.

Tommy lived in a townhouse nearby Alumni Stadium and remembers waking up that day to horns blowing early in the morning.

“There was a collective feeling of how important the opportunity was but also how grateful we were,” Tommy says of that Central Bowl. “We were in a complete flow state as a team. There was a tremendous feeling of purpose that was heightened because of what was available to us if we won that game.

“And when we got to the stadium, it was a fever pitch.”

Approximately 9,000 fans jammed the stands and the surrounding hills that day, helping will their team with a berth to the Vanier Cup on the line. Tommy remembers the dull roar in the changeroom before the game as the huge crowd went wild.

“It felt like the campus was in the locker room,” he says.

Guelph would win that game 12-7 and go on to take the Vanier Cup with a comeback win over Mount Allison. For Tommy, Alumni Stadium still holds a special place in his heart.

“When I get near the University of Guelph, I feel a draw to it,” he says, the emotion in his voice evident. “And I am incomplete if I don’t see it.

“Excellence was achieved there.”

Over the decades, Alumni Stadium has continued to transform and grow. Emeritus head coach Stu Lang brought the facilities to new heights beginning in 2010, adding layer upon layer with the beautiful turf, a state-of-the-art video scoreboard, and the construction of the stunning Gryphon Football Pavilion.

The capacity to host has only improved with an International Association of Athletics Federations- approved eight-lane track. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats called the place home for a season in 2013, while the Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa REDBLACKS played an exhibition game there in 2018.

More plans are in the works to continue to improve this incredible stadium that has become such an integral part of the University’s history over the past 50 years. The anniversary celebration, which was appropriately set for October 17, 2020, exactly 50 years to the day the venue opened, will have to wait until next year. Work on the stadium continues with the renovation of the second-floor High Performance Centre currently underway.

When groups can gather again, and football resumes, over 50 years of Gryphon Football at Alumni Stadium will be celebrated. Emotions will be high, as they have been for every player that’s had the privilege of representing the program.

“I still get chills every day when I drive over Gordon hill and see the impressive structure sitting on the corner of Lang Way,” says Brown. “The two story murals stand on guard for one of the most impressive football stadiums in the country.

“When I walk through Champions Corner, I can’t help but reminisce about the years that I have spent at this amazing institution. The stadium is my home and is home to everyone who has ever played there.

“We are all Gryphons – and our lair is Alumni Stadium.”

Written By: David DiCenzo