NASHVILLE — The smallest football stadium in the Southeastern Conference could make history Monday night when it hosts what might become the highest-attended FCS championship game ever in a showdown between Montana State and Illinois State.
FirstBank Stadium, home of the Vanderbilt Commodores, seats 35,000 fans. The current attendance record for an FCS title game (NCAA Division 1-AA) stands at just over 32,100, set in Huntington, W.Va., when Montana beat Marshall 22-20 in 1995.
Vandy's venue sits on the edge of campus, where the Commodores just wrapped up their best season in program history with 10 wins. The team also produced Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia, the undersized quarterback nobody saw coming, who finished second in voting.
Watch this look from inside and underneath the stadium hosting Monday's FCS Championship:
Interestingly, FirstBank Stadium also holds the historic distinction of being the first stadium built in the South exclusively for college football, constructed in 1922. The outcome of the first game played there was a scoreless tie between Vanderbilt and Michigan.
The stadium also played a role in launching the legendary career of Bear Bryant, who served as an assistant at Vanderbilt in 1940 and was thrown into the fire as an emergency replacement head coach when Red Sanders needed unexpected surgery. That game also ended in a tie, 7-7 against Kentucky.
When the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville, they played one season in FirstBank Stadium in 1998. The following year, they became the Tennessee Titans and shifted to Nissan Stadium, where they still play.
The FCS championship game was played in Frisco, Texas, for the past 15 years but shifted to Nashville while Frisco renovates Toyota Stadium. With 15,000 more seats than the Frisco venue, FirstBank Stadium could accommodate a record number of fans for Monday night's matchup set to be televised on ESPN starting at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time.
The FCS championship will return to FirstBank Stadium again next year, with future title sites up for bid.
