In an effort to keep the football team closer to home, Tennessee State University plans to renovate the 71-year-old Hale Stadium. The Tigers football team has hardly played on that field since the university inked a deal to share Nissan Stadium with the Tennessee Titans. Head coach Eddie George, who is entering his fourth season, has only coached one game in ‘The Hole' when Tennessee State played Lane College in 2021, according to Mike Organ of The Tennessean. 

Currently, the football team uses Hale Stadium as its practice field. The updated field, however, will be expanded to allow for women's soccer games, although the track circling the field will be removed. Since 1999, when TSU signed the lease with Nissan Stadium, the football team has only played a handful of games at Hale. That is a sharp contrast to before the lease, as the Tigers mainly used Hale from its construction in 1953 to 1999, though they also played some games at Vanderbilt. In 2012, TSU renovated the stadium for a 100-year anniversary game against Austin Peay. The team also played Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech at Hale that season.

The Hale Stadium renovation project is not the only construction going on in Nashville. The Tennessee Titans are working on a new Nissan Stadium that is expected to open by 2027. Organ's article suggests that Tennessee State will switch to playing games at the new stadium once it's finished. It will seat about 60,000 fans and includes a dome.

While TSU Athletic Director Nick Guerriero worries about Hale Stadium, Eddie George is focused on the continued rebuild of the Tigers' football program. 2023 seemed to be a breakthrough for George as his team secured their first season with a finish above .500 as they went 6-5. George remained active in both the transfer portal and coaching cycle. For a while, the Tigers thought they landed for North Dakota State offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl as their own OC. Just a couple weeks after the university announced Roehl's hiring, however, he took an assistant coaching job at Iowa State.

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Despite missing on a top coaching target, George is pleased with the recruiting front. In February, he spoke to Organ about the success they had as the signing period opened.

“I'm really excited about the recruiting class of '24,” George said. “We addressed a lot of issues on our team with this class from quarterback to offensive line to playmakers on the outside. On the defensive side we added to our defensive line, linebackers and got some great guys in the secondary. We're excited to build on our momentum from last season.”

Tennessee State begins its football season on Aug. 31 at home against Mississippi Valley State. Ironically, they play North Dakota State the next week in Fargo, North Dakota.