Houchens Industries – L. T. Smith Stadium

Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium and Jimmy Feix Field has been home to the Hilltoppers for over 50 years. WKU has a 199-98-4 (.661) all-time record at “The Houch” with the largest crowd being 25,171 to watch the Hilltoppers face Indiana on Sept. 25, 2021. The official seating capacity is listed at 22,113. The facility has seen several phases of improvements since WKU played its first game there on September 21, 1968.

A multi-year renovation project began in 2006 and featured the construction of a new west side of the stadium while also including a significant renovation of the stadium’s existing east side structure. Construction began on the west grandstand prior to the start of the 2007 season. The west side of the stadium contains approximately 5,000 seats, including an 832-seat club level, along with concession stands and restrooms.

In 2008, the stadium underwent a major $50 million expansion project, resulting in new locker rooms, meeting rooms, weight rooms, and training rooms. The west side of the building also houses new football offices and a new weight room (10,000 square feet), training room (8,500 square feet), locker room (10,000 square feet) and equipment area. In addition, a new berm was built behind the north end zone, giving Hilltopper fans – primarily WKU students – an opportunity to enjoy the game from a different view.

Other improvements to the existing structure on the east side include locker rooms and offices for women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s track. In the lower level, the addition of a new academic advising center includes office space for advisors, tutoring rooms, a large study hall room and a computer laboratory.

Ahead of the program’s Conference USA move prior to the 2014 season, a new FieldTurf playing surface was installed. The field contains the traditional WKU red towel logo with the wording “Feix Field” as well as new black endzones. The black endzone design was selected by an online fan vote. A state-of-the-art high definition video board was installed prior to the 2018 season.

L.T. Smith

The stadium is named for the late L.T. Smith, who came to WKU in 1920 and established the industrial arts curriculum on campus. Smith headed that department until 1957 when he took over as administrator of the WKU Physical Plant. In 1963, Smith was named the Coordinator of New Construction, a post he held until his retirement in 1965. In addition to his other duties, Smith coached the Hilltoppers in 1920 and 1921 and the men’s basketball team during the 1921-22 campaign. He was instrumental in bringing the legendary E.A. Diddle, a member of both the Naismith and Helms Foundation Basketball Halls of Fame, to The Hill to take over the coaching duties in 1922. Smith, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame, also served as chairman of the school’s Athletic Committee almost continuously from the time he helped form it in 1922 until his retirement in 1965.

Feix Field

Jimmy Feix – pronounced Fikes – was WKU’s first football All-American as a quarterback in 1952 and took over the head coaching job in 1968, leading Hilltopper football to some of its greatest seasons, concluding his illustrious 16-year stint at the helm with a school-record 106 wins. The field inside Houchens-Smith stadium was named in his honor at the beginning of the 1991 season. Feix enjoyed a career in professional football before a four-year career in the armed forces. Feix returned to The Hill in 1957 as an assistant football coach. He passed away on October 5, 2014 at the age of 83.