Stadium Scholarship Dormitory History
In 1933, a group of 75 young male students with limited financial means moved into the bowels of Ohio Stadium and started a tradition of cooperation and scholarship that remains alive today. The concept was the brainchild of Joseph A. Park, who was the university's dean of men at the time. Park noticed that many Ohio high school students weren't going to college because they couldn't afford it. Those 75 young men lived in barrack-like conditions in the stadium's southwest corner, which would become known as the Tower Club. In exchange for a break on rent, the young men did all of the chores in the no-frills dorm, except cooking, while they attended classes at The Ohio State University. In subsequent years, the dorm expanded along the west side of the stadium and additional names, such as the Buckeye and Tower clubs, were placed on the living quarters. Through the years, the unique dorm gained national attention. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the student living quarters housed in the Horseshoe. The dorm has been featured several times during nationally televised OSU football games. In 1975, the program and the Stadium Dormitory were expanded several times and the first women moved into the dorm. The university completed a multi-million dollar renovation in the mid-1980s resulting in a residence hall that housed approximately 360 students. Late in the 1990s, the university expanded and renovated Ohio Stadium. In June 1999, the program's history inside the stadium ended as the last group of 356 residents moved out. Renovations to the stadium forced the university to move the program to Mack Hall. In the fall of 1999, the first students moved into the Stadium Scholarship Program at Mack Hall. It was not a seamless transition. After living through a year of construction delays and other moving headaches, SSP residents returned in 2000 to find one of the most impressive dorm facilities on campus. The Stadium Scholarship Program called Mack Hall it’s home for several years before moving to its current location at the Scholars Houses on 10th Avenue in 2005. With continued involvement from dorm alumni and current students, the program should have a promising future while never forgetting the past. |
