Robinson Hale Stadium’s Newfound Purpose
The stadium remains an active centerpiece for Mississippi College athletics.
On Nov. 18, 2024, Mississippi College announced the end of its football program. Although the team has been disbanded for nearly a year, its facility remains active. Since November, many questions have been raised, with some wondering about the immediate and long-term plans for the football field. The turf remains in high demand, which means that Robinson Hale Stadium is here to stay.
Each of the 17 MC athletic programs have used the field in some capacity during the spring portion of the 2024-2025 season. “It got so busy that the strength and conditioning coach had to oversee scheduling so that everybody had an opportunity to use it,” Kenny Bizot, MC’s athletic director, said.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams use the football field as a secondary option when rain floods the grass of their primary field. The track and field team still uses the running track within the Robinson-Hale facility. Sam Kachouroff, a catcher for the Choctaw baseball team, explained how the facility is used by his team. According to the sophomore, the field, given its proximity to the weight room, became a convenient spot to train. Since most of his teammates had to walk past the field to get to their training facility, Kachouroff said that it was a perfect place to hold group workouts. “Especially for the pitchers, it helps them to be able to use the length of the field,” Kachouroff said.
More importantly, Choctaw soccer relies on the turf as a rainy-day backup. Justin Hasty, a defender for the MC men’s soccer team, commented on his use of the field. The senior explained how the team tends to avoid playing on their own field after heavy rain to prevent tearing up the grass. “This is when the football field comes in handy, we will use it as our practice field for the day and sometimes even games,” Hasty said.
MC’s athletic director is especially excited about intramural teams’ use of the field. “We have several intramural sports that play on the turf, and that’s pretty cool to see because I think they do enjoy being out there in that atmosphere,” Bizot said.
“It allows everyone at school a chance to be involved in some type of athletic event and have fun. I myself played an intramural game on the field and had a blast,” Hasty said. “The football field has lights, unlike the soccer field, so we can hold these events and even sometimes have late-night practices for [intramural] teams.”
Beyond sports at MC, the field sees the use of different groups and activities locally and statewide. “Anytime we can get people outside of our campus to come to our campus, Mississippi College is a real draw, so we’re excited about that,” Bizot said.
The Baptist Healthplex hosted exercise classes on the football field, emphasizing the facility’s role in the Clinton community. Mississippi College also has close ties with the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS). The private school league hosts the MAIS state championship game on the football field.
“We’re trying to get them to have more games out here than just the one,” Bizot said. “So, instead of having one game this year, we’ll have three total, which will be really good because there’ll be schools from all around the state of Mississippi.”
As of right now, the cost of maintaining the field is minimal. MC owns a machine that cleans the baseball field as well as the football field. The electricity costs to activate the stadium lights are also minimal. Larger expenses are expected in the future when upgrades to the scoreboard and stadium lights become necessary.
“I feel very strongly that we’ve got to keep the stadium maintained because all of our sports do use it,” Bizot said. The athletic director stressed the field’s importance for MC sports; he said there are no plans to repurpose the football field for non-athletic use.
Bizot’s hope is that even with the absence of football, students will make full use of the field. “My goal, my vision one day is really trying to get the student body engaged with our track and field events and then trying to get them engaged maybe with a night soccer match or something,” Bizot said. “While still being respectful to all the teams that have played on that turf over the years.”
Bizot also sees its potential as a fixture for the Jackson area as a whole. “I hope we could continue to grow relationships with high schools that will want to come over, maybe play some games that are in a really good atmosphere,” Bizot said.
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