Centenary opens 2024 NCAA football season; dedicates Atkins Field
SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary Gents opened the College’s first official NCAA football season in over 50 years on the evening of Saturday, September 7, with a sold-out contest against the Hendrix College Warriors. Centenary students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the Shreveport-Bossier City community enjoyed picture-perfect football weather and a festive atmosphere on the historic night marking the return of NCAA football to the Centenary campus.
Prior to the game, a special ceremony recognized the contributions of the Atkins-Crawford Foundation to renovate and adapt Mayo Field, the College’s soccer and lacrosse stadium, to also accommodate football. Upgrades include new grandstands, a digital scoreboard, and a press box. Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman, along with Board of Trustees member John Atkins and his wife, Lindsay Holman Atkins ’01, unveiled a plaque bearing at the new entrance to the field.
The multi-sport facility will now be known as Atkins Field, honoring William James “Bill” Atkins (1933-2011), an honorary alumnus and strong supporter of Centenary College throughout his life. He served on the Advisory Board of the Frost School of Business and was instrumental in the formation of the Frost School’s Center for Family-Owned Business and the Centenary College Student Managed Investment Fund. Atkins’s grandfather also helped facilitate the move of Centenary from Jackson, Louisiana, to Shreveport in 1908.
Originally known as the Centenary Soccer Complex, the field was renamed in 2001 in honor of Lewis Mayo, the father of former Gents soccer player and coach Eric Mayo, who lost his life heroically while serving as member of the fire department in the Houston, Texas area. A generous donation from the Mayo family supported the installation of lights for the soccer field, and the first-ever night soccer game at Centenary was played on August 31, 2001.
“We knew that to accommodate the return of football, the field and infrastructure would need significant upgrades,” commented Fred Landry, vice president for development. “The Atkins-Crawford Foundation provided significant funding to make that happen, prompting the field renaming to thank the family for their generosity. We will also install a permanent marker to signify the years the facility served as Mayo Field in thanks to the Mayo family.”
A photo gallery from the plaque dedication is available at centenaryla.zenfolio.com/atkinsfieldplaque.