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Lambert Stadium
Lambert Stadium is the home for Itawamba Community College's football
program. A $1.5 million project back in the late '80s, the stadium
was funded partly from local contributors and donations. The
largest sum, however, came from the Enlargement and Improvement Fund
supported by Itawamba County. The stadium, which is one of the finest
in the MACJC, was completed in 1990.
Named for the late A.C. "Butch" Lambert, who was a former head football
coach at then Itawamba Junior College, and also an SEC football
official, the venue is surrounded by its famous hedges, similar to
Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia. An overflow crowd,
including many of "Butch's Boys," saw the stadium's first game on August
30, 1990 against Copiah-Lincoln Community College. That night the
Wolves bettered the Indians 17-7, but later that same season ICC avenged
the defeat in topping the Wolves in five overtimes, 53-47, in the state
semi-finals in Wesson, enroute to capturing an MACJC State Championship
the following week at Hinds.
Lambert Stadium features a tifway 419 hybrid Bermuda grass from Clifton,
Georgia, making it one of the finest playing surfaces in the south.
A grounds crew, supervised by ICC Athletic Fields' Supervisor Mike
Taylor and his assistant Kirk Sheffield, is responsible for the field
maintenance of the stadium. This venue has long been one of the
league's most beautiful and electrifying arenas for college football and
it joins the Davis Event Center (basketball), Crubaugh Field (baseball),
the soccer and softball complexes and tennis courts to give Itawamba
Community College one of the finest athletic facilities for a community
college not only in Mississippi, but in the entire southeastern United
States.
The locker rooms and coaching offices are located in the football
fieldhouse, which is just beyond the southeast section of the stadium.
There is also a state-of-the-art weight room inside the fieldhouse,
featuring 10 power rack systems (which is unheard of in the community
college ranks), a complete dumbbell set and several other pieces of
strength equipment.
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