One of the most attractive NCAA Division II football facilities in the Midwest, Fred G. Hughes Stadium has been the home of the Lions since 1975. The $1.7 million stadium was built at no cost to the taxpayers of the State of Missouri as financing was accomplished entirely through student fees and private contributions.
The first college football facility in the state to have an artificial-turf playing field, Hughes Stadium sports BaspoGrass-S, a sand-filled turf. The surface was installed in time for the 1988 season as part of a $419,000 stadium improvement project and replaced the original AstroTurf surface that had graced the facility for its first 13 years.
BaspoGrass-S, a product of Balsam America Sports Facilities, Inc., consists of one-inch polypropylene fibers, a sand mixture filled to within 1/4-inch of the fiber top, and a 3/4-inch thick rubber pad underneath. The surface for the eight-lane, 400 meter running track, as well as the runways for the field events, is made of an all-weather polyurethane material.
The stadium has a seating capacity of 7,000. The west grandstand seats nearly 4,700 fans, including a section for the handicapped, while the east grandstand has seating for approximately 2,300 spectators.
The first game at the stadium was played on Sept. 6, 1975, as the Lions defeated Emporia State University 20-13. The facility was formally dedicated two weeks later on Sept. 20, and Southern was again victorious, beating the University of Missouri-Rolla 26-6.
After winning five of seven home games that initial season, the Lions have enjoyed great success while playing on the "turf." In 27 seasons of play at Hughes Stadium, they have compiled an impressive 85-48-3 record for a .636 winning percentage.
Southern's longest home win streak is 11 games. That string began on Oct. 11, 1975, and continued two years later until Oct. 29, 1977, when nationally ranked Kearney State College (now University of Nebraska-Kearney) handed the Lions a disappointing 27-23 homecoming loss.
In addition to Lions football, Hughes Stadium is home to Southern's cross country and track and field squads. The facility is also the annual site for one of the area's largest Fourth of July celebrations and has hosted the 1995 Missouri Class 1A, 2A and 5A Football Championships and various regional/national youth cross country and track meets.
The stadium is named in honor of Fred G. Hughes, who was the president of the College's Board of Regents at the time the facility was built. It was designed by the architectural firm of Allgeier, Martin and Associates of Joplin.