Happy State Bank at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium
Home of Buffalo Football
The largest on-campus stadium in NCAA Division II, Happy State Bank at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium has a seating capacity of 20,000 and has stood as a symbol of pride for West Texas A&M University fans since 1959.
A synthetic granular-infilled playing surface, known as FieldTurf, was installed during the summer of 2003. This surface is soccer-friendly and has enabled the facility to host numerous sporting events in addition to football.
The stadium also hosts high school football and soccer games, band competitions and a variety of other events.
Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, boasting the largest seating capacity of any football facility in NCAA Division II, holds 20,000 people and has stood as a symbol of pride for West Texas A&M University fans since 1959.
Originally known as the Buffalo Bowl, the facility was renamed Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in 1971 in honor of the late WT football coach and athletic director Frank Kimbrough. Operation of the stadium has been facilitated by the Canyon Independent School District since 1991, when the University leased Kimbrough to the Canyon Independent School District in a 99-year, $99-agreement.
The location, just off the Interstate 27 on the Amarillo-Canyon Expressway, was chosen for its ground features that made a bowl-like construction easier for the Neil Singleton Construction Company of Amarillo. The $700,000 financing was handled, in part, by donated money from boosters desiring to replace the old 7,000 seat, on-campus structure that occupied land where the Administration Building, Killgore Research Center and Cornette Library now stand.
The stadium received its first major overhaul since its opening on Sept. 26, 1959, when a new synthetic grass surface known as Field Turf was installed in 2003, replacing the original Bermuda-grass field.
Its east-side chair back section, which was the original home side, had power outlets every two seats affording fans power for electric blankets, radios, coffee pots, and even the new portable television sets.
The stadium's dedication in 1959 served as the centerpiece for the University's 50th anniversary celebration and was attended by U.S. Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Representative Walter Rogers, members of the Board of Regents of Texas State Teachers Colleges, and delegates from about 40 colleges and universities across the Southwest.
The first game ever played in the Bowl also marked the first visit to the Panhandle by longtime Border Conference rival University of Arizona. A crowd of 11,000 fans saw the Wildcats defeat Coach Clark Jarnigan's young Buffs, 7-6, when freshman quarterback Corky Dawson was stopped in his attempt to run for two points after he had scored the Buffs' first touchdown in the new stadium on a 10-yard keeper. The first victory by WTAMU in the new stadium was a 34-21 decision over Drake University on Halloween in 1959. In the stadium's first day game, Virginia Tech defeated the Buffs 26-21.
WTAMU defeated Angelo State 37-7 on Oct. 3, 1998, in the 200th Buff game played at Kimbrough. The Homecoming game drew 12,240 spectators, the most since 1982. The mark would be shattered in 2005, as 22,993 fans packed Kimbrough Stadium on Oct. 8 to watch the Buffs defeat rival Eastern New Mexico, 52-51, in overtime to claim the Wagon Wheel Trophy and their first conference championship since 1986. But the largest crowd to ever pack Kimbrough Memorial occurred on Oct. 13, 2007, when 23, 276 fans witnessed watched WT defeat Eastern New Mexico, 62-31.
The Buffs have led the nation in Division II attendance figures each of the last three seasons under Coach Carthel, averaging just under 14,000 fans per regular season home contest during the 2005 campaign, over 12,000 fans per game during the 2007 season and have twice seen crowds in excess of 22,000 pack the historic bowl in each of the past two years.
In the 2009 WTAMU football season, we celebrated the 50th year anniversary at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. Here are some videos that were featured during the game.
Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Record Book
• Overall WTAMU Record at Kimbrough Memorial: 126-115-3
• First Game: Sept. 26, 1959 (Arizona 7, WTAMU 6)
• First WTAMU Win: Oct. 31, 1959 (WTAMU 34, Drake 21)
• 50th WTAMU Win: Nov. 22, 1973 (WTAMU 49, Louisville 23)
• 75th WTAMU Win: Nov. 13, 1982 (WTAMU 30, New Mexico State 28)
• 100th WTAMU Win: Sept. 23, 1995 (WTAMU 38, SW Oklahoma St. 21)
• 100th Game: Oct. 29, 1977 (WTAMU 31, Indiana State 20)
• 175th Game: Oct. 31, 1993 (Tarleton State 28, WTAMU 27)
• 200th Game: Oct. 3, 1998 (WTAMU 37, Angelo State 7)
• Most Points Scored by WTAMU: 70 vs. W. New Mexico (Oct. 8, 1995)
• Largest Attendance: 22,993 on Oct. 8, 2005 (WTAMU vs. Eastern New Mexico)
• Largest Homecoming Crowd:23,276 on Oct. 13, 2007 (WTAMU vs. Eastern New Mexico)
