Stephenville football finally gets true home at Art Briles Stadium
Boasting one of the most storied high school football programs in the state, Stephenville has a legacy steeped in tradition. Nestled in the heart of Texas, football is more than a game here. With all the team’s successes, one crucial element was missing until this year: a true home for the team. Not anymore. The Stephenville Yellow Jackets, with a student population of around 1,100, will usher in a new era Sept. 5 with the first home football game in their own stadium, located about a mile from the high school campus.
After decades of leasing Tarleton Memorial Stadium for its home games, Stephenville is buzzing with excitement in anticipation of adding to its storied gridiron accomplishments at its first “real home.” Art Briles Stadium at Mike Copeland Field, named for a pair of Stephenville legends, seats 7,500 (5,500 home and 2,000 visitors).
Briles coached Stephenville from 1988 to 1999, leading the Yellow Jackets to four state championships. Taking over a program that had not made the playoffs in 36 years, Briles did not make the postseason in his initial season, but did so in each subsequent one.
He moved on to college, with a successful run at Houston before resurrecting Baylor’s program, but his tenure with the Bears ended amid a sexual assault scandal involving players.
At Stephenville, Briles retains his legacy as the coach who laid the groundwork for sustained success, as the Yellow Jackets added state championships in 2012 and 2021. Copeland, an icon for the school’s athletic programs, was defensive coordinator and then head coach from 2000-02, and spent nearly five decades building the tennis, track and field, basketball, and golf programs. Among the many details at the venue, which features an all-turf field, is a glass-enclosed Hall of Fame exhibit that will greet stadium-goers as they walk through the impressive entrance. The stadium features the largest high school scoreboard within 100 miles. Current head football coach Sterling Doty is creating his own legacy at Stephenville as he begins his seventh season guiding this team and also serves as the school’s athletic director. Doty led the team to a 16-0 state championship in 2021.
Stephenville holds a No. 4 preseason ranking by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football in Class 4A Division I. The Yellow Jackets begin the season Friday at Midlothian Heritage before opening the stadium Sept. 5 against Everman.
Doty recently gave some insights on the venue, which came in on time — groundbreaking was Nov. 1, 2023 — and on budget at a cost of $40 million. What does the new stadium represent for the athletic program? A place that is ours. At any time, our teams and organizations can have access to a great venue. It is very special for sure. You think about all the great players and coaches that have come through these halls that never had a full-time home. Never had our logos on the turf of their highlight tapes. Now that has all changed. What impresses you the most about the new stadium? First, that it is called Art Briles Stadium at Mike Copeland Field. To honor these two men that mean so much to the community is very special. I also love the press box and the scoreboard. With two on-campus practice fields, how has the team utilized the new stadium thus far, and how will it utilize it during the season? The first Saturday of fall camp, on Aug. 9, we practiced over there. That is called our Blue-Gold practice. We had a lot of people show up to watch. During the season, we will stay on our practice fields most of the time. Usually, just go over if it rains too much or when we get deeper in the playoffs and we need the lights. We do plan on going over for walk-throughs the day before games. What festivities are planned for your initial home game in the new stadium, Sept. 5 versus Everman? Coach Art Briles and Coach Mike Copeland will be honorary captains for the game. So we will have a short ceremony to honor the naming at that time.
How does the new stadium enhance Stephenville‘s chances of hosting playoff games? We feel like we are going to be able to host a lot of games here come playoff time. With the location, we feel like it is going to be a great option for a lot of schools. What is the outlook for your team this season? Very excited about this group. We return a lot of good players. Ten returning starters on defense. We do have to replace our quarterback, top wide receiver and running back from 2024, but we do have a group that is hungry to fill those roles.