The home of Jacksonville State football for the past 61 years has been Paul Snow Stadium.
In 1946, JSU changed a little bit. Enrollment went up, and so did the popularity of football. Seeing the neeed for a new facility, the school built a stadium in the present location and it was dedicated in from of an overflow crowd at the 1947 Homecoming game against Pembroke. The Gamecocks went on to win that game and posted a perfect 9-0 season, including a 7-0 win over Florida State.
The “College Bowl” as it was called, got its present name in 1961. During Homecoming, the stadium was dedicated to longtime JSU supporter Paul Snow.
Paul Snow Stadium got a face-lift in 1965 when seating was expanded from 5,000 to 8,500 and a new press box was installed on the north side of the facility. Under the supervision of long-time Athletic Director Jerry N. Cole, the field house was constructed in 1977 and a final sprucing up was complete in 1978, when the student section was added, bringing the capacity to 15,000. The improved stadium opened with the Gamecocks beating Southeastern Louisiana, 10-7.
The natural playing surface at Paul Snow Stadium was replaced during the summer of 2005 to an artificial playing turf. It was the first major renovation to the stadium since the 1978 season. It took three months to install at a cost of just over $700,000 and was completed in time to hold summer graduation on the new playing field.
Improvements in 2007 included two new scoreboards and the addition of “Gamecock Vision,” a new video replay scoreboard that is located in the east end zone and features a 14’ x 24’ ProStar Video Plus Display that is the largest in the Ohio Valley Conference.
On the Gamecock Fieldhouse, a new scoreboard was installed, making Paul Snow Stadium the only stadium in the OVC with two scoreboards. The new boards feature a state-of-the-art control booth, located under the east end zone.
The record for a single-game crowd at Paul Snow Stadium was set in 2003, when 16,800 fans witnessed the Gamecocks’ matchup with Alabama A&M.