University of Memphis Announces Plans for New Soccer Stadium

In a ceremony at the South Campus of the University of Memphis, an announcement was made that the school is unveiling a plan for massive upgrades to the facilities for the women’s and men’s soccer programs.

The effort has been titled Liza’s Light and the new stadium will be called Liza Wellford Fletcher Stadium. Liza Fletcher played soccer at the University of Memphis for Coach Brooks Monaghan. Fletcher was a beloved teacher, dedicated runner, and an inspiring figure in the Memphis community. Tragically, in a story that attracted national media attention, Fletcher lost her life in 2022 when she was abducted while out for a jog one morning.

It is fitting that a stadium set to bear the name of such a remarkable woman, plays host to a remarkable women’s soccer team. There is currently no other athletic team at the University of Memphis that is more successful than the women’s soccer team. They have been to six straight NCAA Tournament’s and seven of the past eight. They have won three straight conference championships and four of the last six. In that time, they have a record of 114-34-17 (W-L-D) for a 74%-win percentage. Just this year, at the start of his 25th season, Brooks Monaghan won his 300th game as head coach. As of Tuesday, the team is currently ranked as the number 8 team in the country.

It also bears mentioning that the men’s soccer program at the University of Memphis has been experiencing huge highs for their program. Coach Richard Mulrooney has guided the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, after the program had only been to a total of two NCAA Tournaments ever prior to his arrival. Just last year, they won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in program history.

Unfortunately, the quality of the facilities for the soccer teams has lagged far behind the quality the teams are producing on the field.

In a recent interview with the Jason & John Show, Coach Monaghan mentioned the support he has received from both former Athletic Director Laird Veatch and new Athletic Director Ed Scott, while also acknowledging just how subpar the current facilities for his team are. A story from The Daily Memphian called the current state of the facilities “an embarrassment” and opined that not only has Coach Monaghan needed this new facility for a long time but that “his players have earned dramatically better than what they have.”

So, the plan is to raise a total of $7 million for the first phase of the project. Phase 1 will include building a new women’s soccer locker room, building the framework for a new men’s soccer locker room, and replacing the current stand in the stadium with a new one to seat about 1,500 people (and have a new press box atop it). Phase 2 and Phase 3 will include the completion of the new men’s soccer locker room and the addition of new facilities for the track & field athletes.

The Liza’s Light project began when Liza Fletcher’s family saw an open letter from Coach Monaghan called “Letter to Liza.” According to that same Daily Memphian piece, the family was sold on, not just cutting a one-time check, but supporting the full needs of the project. Additionally, the general public can contribute to the project by visiting the Liza’s Light website where they can also view the renderings of what the proposed renovations will look like. The site also includes potential naming rights deals. While several aspects of the facility already have naming rights secured, there are a number that still have not. Those include the film room, the stadium grandstand and a Hall of Champions.

The next opportunity for Tiger fans to get out to the South Campus and support the soccer teams will be on Thursday at 7pm when the men’s soccer team kicks their season off against Lipscomb. Following that they have another home game on Sunday against Evansville at 6pm. The women’s soccer team has several upcoming SEC road games (including at Ole Miss on Sunday) but return home for a pair of power conference home games on September 1st and September 8th, against Iowa State and Kansas State respectively.