Remembering Phillips Field

Located on the banks of the Hillsborough River, Phillips Field served as the home of University of Tampa’s football program for thirty years. The stadium was named after local businessman Isham Whitfield Phillips, whose family donated the land to the University of Tampa for construction of the field.

The stadium also served as the site for the annual Thanksgiving Day high school football game between Hillsborough and Plant, as well as the Cigar Bowl, a postseason college football game held from 1947-54. Phillips Field also hosted an American Football League exhibition game in August 1964 between the Buffalo Bills and New York Titans.

By the 1960s, however, most major college programs began refusing to travel to Tampa because of the tiny capacity of Phillips Field, which could accommodate barely more than 15,000. The construction of Tampa Stadium in 1967 marked the end of the road for the venerable old field. Today, the former site of Phillips Field is used as an athletic field on the campus of the Tampa Preparatory School.