Syracuse Orange Football at JMA Wireless Dome
The big, echoing Loud House is one of college sports' most iconic venues, a response to a question that no one was asking, but everyone was delighted to learn the answer to: What would it be like if sports were played in an enormous bubble? Syracuse's football, basketball and lacrosse teams all do battle under the signature inflatable roof of the JMA Wireless Dome. The stadium opened in 1980, with an HVAC company lending its name (but not its air-conditioning units, as many sweaty fans have noticed over the years). Today, the JMA Wireless Dome is the largest domed stadium on any college campus, with a seating capacity for football games of nearly 50,000. In 2018, the university announced it would do away with the bubble roof, replacing it with a fixed roof, parts of which would be translucent.
If you're going to a game, be sure to check out the statue of Syracuse great Ernie Davis, the first black man to win a Heisman Trophy. It's located between the JMA Wireless Dome and the nearby quad. And don't forget to do a Dome Stomp in the channels of the stadium's outer walls. Stand in one of the grooves, jump up and slam your feet on the ground. You'll make your own thunder.
Syracuse Orange Football History
Since its founding in 1889, Syracuse football has racked up more than 700 wins and one consensus national championship (for the 1959 season). More than anything, though, it is best known for the players who've passed through this part of Central New York. Look no further than the guys who've worn Syracuse's No. 44. They include three of the greatest running backs ever to put on cleats: Jim Brown (a lacrosse superstar as well), Ernie "The Elmira Express" Davis and Floyd Little (who broke the rushing records set by Davis and Brown before him).
