War Memorial
Holabird & Roche
designed the stadium as a memorial dedicated to the 189 University of
Illinois students and alumni who died in World War I.
Memorial colonnades were designed to run the length of the east and west façades. The colonnades were comprised of 200 individual columns. On 189 of these columns was inscribed the name of an Illini soldier who died in the war. In addition, carved stone panels were placed on the facility’s exterior to commemorate the war and to honor athletic achievements.
