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The Naval Academy has used Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for football since moving their facilities from Thompson Stadium 1959.

Overall, NC State has a record of 1-1 at this field, defeating Navy in their one game which was a true road game, while losing to East Carolina in a neutral game organized as part of the Military Bowl.

  * Non-conference games

As college football grew into a bigger business in the 1920s and 1930s, the Naval Academy knew they could not continue to use derelict old Thompson Stadium for much longer. They began playing more and more games either on the road or in neutral sites, especially Baltimore Municipal Stadium and Foreman Field, in Norfolk. Finally, in 1939, the Naval Academy Athletic Association purchased land ear-marked for a replacement venue, and even began preliminary grading work. "We do not expect to have the stadium this year," noted athletic director Capt. T. Starr King in October 1941, "We are simply getting ready."

Despite teasing that a move could come as soon as 1942, it would take more than a decade and a half for the new stadium to open. Two major factors in the delay were, of course, the outbreak of World War II and the Korean War. Fortunes began to reverse course after the Midshipmen won the 1954 Sugar Bowl and the 1957 Cotton Bowl, and was bolstered by Congressional approval for the expansion of campus buildings in 1954. The contract was officially closed in January 1958 with an opening date of September 1959, and a bill totaling $2,900,000 (over $32.5 million in 2026); early plans called for a double-decked stadium seating about 29,000 persons -- nearly double the permanent seating campacity of of Thompson Stadium [1].

From the beginning, the venue was dubbed Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, in honor of fallen servicemembers from Annapolis, with hundreds of chairs throughout the venue made into mementos to fallen individuals. And since for several years many of their larger games continued to be held away from Annapolis, the site's 28,796 seats were, by and large, plenty. About 2,600 temporary stands were first built ahead of the highly-anticipated 1963 Pittsburgh game; other instances include 1969 (1,500 vs Penn State), 1973 (4,200 vs Air Force), 1977 (2,250 vs Air Force), and 1991 (4,000 vs Air Force). And though expansion efforts were considered for the upstart World Football League (WFL) in 1974, Annapolis failed to land a team, perhaps in part because of reticence of Navy officials to fund the crowd. Ill feelings towards pro football amongst Navy fans may have informally played a part in spurning the WFL: the founding of the Baltimore Colts in 1953 was widely associated with waning interest in the Academy's abandonment of the Charm City for neutral site games [2].

Early improvements to the stadium have been relatively hard to come by. A new scoreboard was also installed in 1973, and at some point, semi-permanent steel bleacher seats were installed in the north endzone; photographic evidence shows their presence as early as 1982. The addition pushed the capacity to 30,000 seats, though a 1984 article (perhaps including standing room) said the venue could hold up to 34,000. The Naval Academy also considered adding sky boxes during the 1990-1991 seasons, but ultimately never pulled the trigger on the work. Lights were also installed in 1984 as part of hosting a series of Olympic soccer games [3].

Change came in waves starting in 2002. First on the docket was replacing all the stadium's seating with bright blue plastic chairback seats (with yellow seats along the upper deck spelling "GO NAVY"), resurfacing the aging concrete as needed, the addition of ramps and ADA seating, and the installation of a 20' x 60' Daktronics video board to the south endzone. Phase II, completed ahead of the 2003 season, was aided by a $10 million ($17.7 million in 2026) donation by Jack Stephens, which prompted Navy officials to naming the field Jack Stephens Field in his honor; the overall venue renaimed Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. As part of this phase of improvements, permanent seating was raised to 34,000 by the addition of 6,000 endzone bleachers; the field was also lowered 8 feet, luxury suites were finally added, and a second video scoreboard was installed in the north endzone, along with other updates to stadium ammenities. The third phase, finished before the 2004 football season, included the erection of new entry arches, and a revamped press box. Ahead of the 2005 season, artificial turf was installed; academy officials opted for FieldTurf, hoping the installation would help the stadium in holding more sports [4].

Subsequent renovations have been fairly minor: in 2010, four luxury boxes were added to the east side of the stadium; in 2011, a new turf system was installed; in 2013, the locker room was renovated and an "enclosed recruiting reception" area was added to the south endzone; in 2014, club seating was added to the east side of the stadium; and on 2016, the south endzone scoreboard was replaced with a larger one matching the southerly scoreboard. These are considered to be the fourth and final phase of the improvements begun over a decade prior. None of these improvements were accompanied by a reported increase in capacity, but likely aided in moving the Military Bowl to Annapolis in 2013 [5].

Pictures of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium