The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Complex
8/14/2006 | Softball
With the recent face-lift of the Ole Miss Softball Complex, the Rebels boast one of the premier softball facilities in the Southeastern Conference, and in the nation.
A $1.2 million renovation project completed in the spring of 2006 includes a brand new indoor hitting/practice facility, a state-of-the-art new press box, refurbished dugouts, new video and audio systems, a brick facade lining the grandstands, new lighting and fixtures, new fencing and netting and a central seating section with comfort-designed chair-back seats. The project also includes new lighting for the Ole MIss Soccer Stadium.
The new indoor hitting/practice facility is at the heart of the renovations. With it, Ole Miss becomes one of a handful of softball programs to boast an indoor facility solely for the use of softball, joining Georgia and Mississippi State in the SEC. The indoor facility is one of even fewer around the country to include infield dirt.
The Rebels christened the updated facility on March 8, 2006, with a doubleheader sweep of Southeastern Louisiana. Ole Miss played its first-ever televised softball game in Oxford on April 9 on Fox Sports Net-South against the Crimson Tide of Alabama. The Rebels finished the 2006 season with 11 home wins, including five wins in their last six home games.
Second-year head coach Missy Dickerson and her staff have already experienced some of the benefits of the upgraded facility, in both success on the playing field and in recruiting. The 2006 squad made the program's first-ever trip to the SEC Tournament, and the Rebels have been bringing in top prep talent from Mississippi and across the United States.
"The support of the administration and their willingness to upgrade the facility and make our softball complex one of the nicest in the Southeastern Conference is tremendous," Dickerson said.
When the University of Mississippi started its fastpitch softball program in 1997, it opened with no place to call its own, as the team competed at the local community softball park.
Throughout the next eight years, the program evolved, and the facilities and support for the program grew with it.
In that time, the Ole Miss Softball Complex was completed, providing the team with its own field near the Gillom Center, the women's sports complex on campus.
The beautifully landscaped 1,000-seat arena has served as the home of the Ole Miss Rebels for the past seven seasons and has been made even more attractive with the recent face-lift.
