Jul. 24—CHAMPAIGN — On a perfect Wednesday afternoon in my adopted home city, I wandered over to my second-favorite building in town: the House of Grange.
Other than my home in Old Town (my favorite building, of course), I have spent more time at First and Kirby than anywhere else in Champaign-Urbana. Not even close. And loved every minute of it. Though Snowmageddon last November when Illinois hosted Northwestern in the regular-season finale tested my feelings for about five minutes. But when I reached the press box, all was well again.
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Anyhow, the mission this time was to check out the new scoreboard that towers over the south end zone at Gies Memorial Stadium.
It does not disappoint, even when the screen is dark.
We are told it’s the biggest main display board in college football, with more than 17,000 square feet.
It is 69 feet high and 250 feet wide. Stop bragging about your 100-inch set at home. This one is the Big Kahuna.
When Illinois announced the upcoming addition in January, it included the other nine largest scoreboards in the country. Four others are in the Big Ten.
No. 2 is Auburn, which is 10,690 square feet, followed by Purdue (8,461), Oregon (8,208), Michigan (8,165), Wisconsin (7,941), Utah (7,808), Oklahoma (7,803), Mississippi State (7,777) and Texas A&M (7,635).
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I think maybe the least surprising part of this exercise, five are in the Big Ten, four in the SEC and one in the Big 12.
Reluctant interview
So many questions. I did the logical thing and spent some quality time with scoreboard No. 1.
Question: What do we call you?
Answer: Well, “Biggest scoreboard in college football” certainly captures the reality but is a bit on the bland side.
Since you were created by South Dakota-based Daktronics, how about keep it simple and go with “Dak.”
The Cowboys quarterback (Prescott) will appreciate the reference, and he knows all about big scoreboards. The one at AT&T Stadium is massive and was way ahead of its time when it went up in 2009.
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Question: During the games, are fans watching the field or you?
Answer: Too soon to tell. But my guess is a bit of both. In the press box, there are TV monitors that I look at often. In the stands, fans can expect constant replays and a barrage of messages from the athletic department and important sponsors.
Status symbol
It is college football, where everything is a competition. Who has the best record? Highest-rated recruiting class? Most NIL money?
What happens if another school sees “Dak” and decides it wants the biggest videoboard? Schools like Texas and Alabama and definitely LSU leap to mind. Of course, the Tigers spent all their money to lure Lane Kiffin. Good luck with that.
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It is inevitable someone will put up a bigger board.
No reason for “Dak” to be jealous. It started the trend and will earn partial credit.
Some other potential uses?
The first movie night has already been set for Aug. 8 with “Air Bud” on the playlist. It will be like a drive-in with way more seats to check out Illinois men’s basketball standout David Mirkovic’s favorite movie.
Question: Was the scoreboard needed?
Answer: Probably not considering this new upgrade replaces another upgrade that was done before the 2013 season. But Illinois football — and the athletic department — gets a major boost because of it.
Every TV network that comes to C-U for games will make a big deal about it. That’s why having the biggest matters, even if that distinction lasts just a short time.
