Constructing McConagha Stadium

By the 1920s, the student population was expanding, and athletics were such an important part of Muskingum life that demand for new and better facilities was essential. President J. Knox Montgomery launched the “Million for Muskingum” campaign to raise funds for badly needed academic buildings as well as a football stadium and larger gym. In 1924, 1360 people-including many current students-pledged a total of $44,000 toward the stadium and gym projects.  Creating a field and stands from a creek-lined hollow was no simple task, but College engineer Cam McConagha found a way to do it on a very tight budget. Cam acquired several economical kerosene-powered oil pull tractors, and worked long hours with a crew that included many students constructing an underground channel for the stream and leveling the land above it. The three key ingredients to success were broad community support, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. Years later the college would put Cam McConagha’s name on the stadium to acknowledge his critical role in getting it built.