Alabama will become the latest SEC football program to refresh the name of its football venue when Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium is christened Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

That got us thinking. Do you really know the story behind the names of the other 15 SEC football stadiums?

So we did the research to create this easy-to-digest guide to the names behind the stadiums you see every Saturday.

Stadiums named for former coaches (3)

Jordan-Hare Stadium

Originally known as Auburn Stadium, the venue was renamed Cliff Hare Stadium after a football alumnus who was the president of the old Southern Conference and the longtime chairman of Auburn’s Faculty Athletic Committee.

The hyphen came in 1973 through an act of the legislature wanting to add the name of active coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan to the stadium. So, from then on, it’s been known as Jordan-Hare Stadium. Then, in 2005, Pat Dye Field was named for the coach who led the Tigers from 1981-92.

Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Cambell-Williams Field)

The home of the Texas Longhorns was originally known as War Memorial Stadium, then just Memorial Stadium. By 1996, the school honored legendary coach Darrell K Royal by adding him to the nameplate. Royal led the Longhorns to three national titles while leading the program from 1957-76. The field was renamed in 2020 after being previously named for Joe Jamail. The sons of the late Texas billionaire and donor requested that the playing surface be renamed for Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell.

Neyland Stadium

Built in 1921, the home of Tennessee football was known as Shields-Watkins Field in honor of a prominent donor and his wife, Alice Watkins-Shields. The name changed in 1962 as the school added General Robert Neyland’s name to the stadium. The coach for 21 years starting in 1926, Neyland led the Vols to a 173-31-12 record and the 1951 national title.

The playing surface was named Shields-Watkins Field to honor the original name. Then in 2024, Pilot announced an investment to keep the Neyland Stadium name. The school’s website now has the name Neyland Stadium with “preserved by Pilot” below it.

Named for donors (5)

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium (Broyles Field)

The Fayetteville home of the Razorbacks wasn’t always the site of the biggest games. Like Birmingham served for Alabama, Little Rock was the venue for most of the bigger Arkansas games until recent decades. Donald W. Reynolds, a businessman and philanthropist, had his name added to Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville in 2001 when capacity was expanded from just over 50,000 to north of 70,000. The field was named for legendary coach and athletics director Frank Broyles in 2007.

Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Owen Field)

The home of Oklahoma football was updated in 2002 after the Gaylord Family donated to help with a renovation. The Gaylord family was the longtime owners and publishers of The Oklahoman newspaper in Oklahoma City until 2011. The playing surface is named Owen Field after a coach from the 1920s who helped build the original stadium.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Florida Field)

Known as The Swamp, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was named in 1989 after a donor and fan of the University of Florida. It opened as Florida Field in 1930 and the playing surface retains that name to this day.

Williams-Brice Stadium

When the home of South Carolina football needed an expansion, a bequest from the estate of Mrs. Martha Williams-Brice was pivotal. The stadium saw its capacity raised from 43,000 to more than 54,000 and the venue was officially named in her memory on Sept. 9, 1972. Before her donation, the place was known as Carolina Stadium.

From the school’s website: “Mrs. Williams-Brice’s husband, Thomas H. Brice, was a Gamecock football letterman from 1922-24, and her family operated the Williams Furniture Company in Sumter. She left a substantial inheritance from the furniture fortune to her nephews, Thomas W. and Philip L. Edwards, much of which they passed on to the University of South Carolina. That included a bequest for the stadium project.”

Davis Wade Stadium (Scott Field)

The home of Mississippi State football was called Scott Field for nearly 80 years. It was named after Olympian Donald Scott until 2001 when Aflac co-founder Floyd Davis Wade donated to the school. He paid for the majority of a $30 million renovation of the stadium that added a 7,000-seat upper deck. The stadium is now known as Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

Named for presidents/administrators (2)

Sanford Stadium (Dooley Field)

The Georgia Bulldogs play in a stadium named for former president Dr. Steadman Vincent Sanford. He joined the faculty in 1903, founded the Grady School of Journalism in 1921, served as dean from 1927-32, was president until 1935 and then served as chancellor of the University System of Georgia. He also led the effort to build the stadium that carries his name in 1929.

The playing surface was named Dooley Field in 2019 in honor of legendary coach (1964-1988) and athletics director (1979-2004) Vince Dooley.

Kyle Field

Perhaps the most obscure of the group, the home of Texas A&M football was named in 1908 after Edwin Jackson Kyle, who served as Texas A&M’s dean of agriculture and athletic council president.

He used a 400 x 400-foot area of the southern edge of campus that had been assigned to him for horticultural experiments to build a football grandstand. Kyle went on to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala from 1945-48.

Named for administrators/coaches (2)

Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium

This could have gone in a previous category since Denny Stadium (1929-75) was named for former president George Denny. He got company on the nameplate in 1975 when the Alabama legislature voted to add then-active coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

The name was officially changed before the first home game in 1975 when Alabama crushed Clemson in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Saban Field is set to be dedicated before the Sept. 7, 2024 home game against South Florida.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

Like at Alabama, the home of Ole Miss football is split. Johnny Vaught’s name was added in 1982 to honor his 190-61-12 record and three claimed national titles. He joined Judge William Hemingway’s name. The former law professor and chairman of the university’s athletics committee lived from 1869-1937. The playing surface was named after donor Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth in 1998.

General names (2)

Tiger Stadium

The name of LSU’s stadium is quite self-explanatory.

Memorial Stadium

The Missouri stadium was built in 1926. The playing surface was named Faurot Field in 1972 to honor coach Don Faurot.

Corporate naming rights (2)

FirstBank Stadium

Vanderbilt’s stadium was updated in 2022 to reflect a new partnership. Before that, it was just Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field. The field was named after a former dean who helped found what eventually became the SEC.

Kroger Field

The home of Kentucky football was known as Commonwealth Stadium from its dedication in 1973 until the grocery store bought the naming rights in 2017.