Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium - Western Carolina Catamounts
Updated: Sep 21
Photos by Lloyd Brown, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.71
Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium 291 Catamount Rd Cullowhee, NC 28723
Year Opened: 1974
Capacity: 13,742
Mountain Cats On The Attack
Western Carolina University lives up to its name, as it is the westernmost campus in the North Carolina University System. It was founded in 1889 and now serves nearly 12,000 students. The school is particularly known for its computer sciences and liberal arts programs. It is also famous for preserving the mountain heritage of the region.
The home of the Catamounts is the on-campus Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. Bob Waters was the winningest coach in Western Carolina history and served as athletic director for the school. E.J. Whitmire was a longtime member of the school’s Board of Trustee’s. The stadium originally opened in 1974 and has a capacity of 13,742. It has gone through numerous upgrades over the years.
However, the stadium has really been transformed over the 2024-2025 off seasons and opened the 2026 season with a radically different facility. A new multi-story skybox was added to the western side of the field, which formerly served as the visitor’s side of the stadium. As a result of this massive addition, the western side of the field is now the home side of the facility, and the east side of the stadium now is the visitors seating. The skyboxes include a Hospitality Level with enhanced concessions and premium rooftop seating. Additional upgrades to the stadium include new lighting, a state-of-the-art videoboard and a new field turf surface.
Western Carolina has fully dedicated the west side of the stands for its alumni, fans and major donors. To improve its home field advantage, it has left both the Catamount student body and the Pride of the Mountain’s Marching Band in the east stands. This effectively cuts down on the support/noise the visiting team’s fans can generate during a game.
The stadium retains both the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at the south end of the field and the Jordan-Phillips Field House at the north of the field. This preserves both a hospitality deck and a scoreboard that overlooks the north end zone and the team locker rooms in the Ramsey Center.
Food & Beverage 3
There are concession stands on both the east and west concourses of E.J. Whitmire Stadium, plus enhanced concession areas in the new skybox area. A food truck court is located at the north end of the stadium offering additional food selections. These trucks include Kona Ice, Wood Fried Grill, Glazed and Infused Donuts, Dragon Pit BBQ and Burgers, J &K Lemonade, Depot Pizza and Cat Daddy’s Creole Cuisine.
The main concession stands carry hot dogs ($6), personal-sized pizza ($10), nachos w-cheese ($9), jumbo pretzels ($5), popcorn ($4), chips ($4), candy ($4), and Bojangles sandwiches ($7).
Drink selections include Pepsi brand sodas ($6), Gatorade ($5), Sunset Slush and Bojangles sweet tea ($5) and bottled water ($4).
Alcohol sales are available at designated stands for patrons over the age of 21. ID’s must be presented, and there is a two-drink limit per purchase. Brands include Michelob Ultra, Coors Light, Hazy Little Thing IPA, Paws Pilsner and Barefoot Pinot Grigio.
Credit cards are preferred, but there are also cash-only drink and snack stands available.
Atmosphere 4
While a game at E.J. Whitmire Stadium does not create the buzz of a 60,000-seat stadium, it more than makes up for it with a beautiful natural setting, rabid fans and a welcoming spirit for visitors. They’ve even painted purple cat paws on the streets on the campus to guide you to the stadium. They are also very proud of the newly upgraded facilities and are eager to show visitors around their new football home.
The tailgating scene is quite active throughout the WCU campus. In addition to the fan tailgates, the Greek organizations, school clubs, alumni, and other school organizations also sponsor tailgating activities.
The student section really leads the gameday atmosphere, as they all seem to be armed with thunder sticks. The student section is strategically located immediately behind the visiting team’s sideline, making it difficult for the team to communicate. The WCU band is also located on the visitors’ side of the field, doing their part to make communications difficult for the visiting squad.
Neighborhood 3
Western Carolina University is in Cullowhee, NC, an unincorporated area of Jackson County, NC. There are no hotels, restaurants or attractions in Cullowhee, except for the on-campus theatre and the Mountain Heritage Center museum.
The closest services can be found seven miles north of Cullowhee via Highway 107 in the town of Sylva. Restaurants in Sylva include O’Malley’s Pub and Grill, El Patron Mexican Restaurant, the Lazy Hiker Brewing Company and Forager’s Canteen. Hotels in Sylva include the Holiday Inn Express-Sylva and the Western Carolina Comfort Inn.
Other than the fall foliage, the nearest attractions to Western Carolina University are Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, NC. and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The city of Ashville is less than 60 miles east of Cullowhee.
Fans 4
The WCU fanbase is mostly made up of WCU alumni, the students and faculty of the school and townspeople from area communities. Western Carolina has led the Southern Conference in attendance for several years and ranks 20th in the country in attendance for schools at the FCS level of competition. The stands are a sea of purple and gold for every home game.
The Western Carolina mascot, Paws, does a great job in keeping the fans enthused throughout the games. He is assisted in keeping the fans involved by the 500-member Pride of the Mountains Marching Band.
Access 4
Whitmire Stadium earns our midrange score for access due to its relatively isolated location in the mountains and its long distance from any interstate. However, the state highways and local roads leading to the campus are well maintained. You can also expect heavy traffic on any of the roads in the area during the peak of fall foliage season.
Gameday parking for non-students and visiting fans is in the HHS Commuter Parking Lot located across Highway 107 from the WCU campus via Little School Road. Free shuttles begin running between the campus and the satellite parking area two hours prior to kickoff. The Ramsey Center behind the south endzone is the on-campus pickup/drop-off location.
Return on Investment 3
Ticket prices are $23 for General Admission for adults and $18 for children. Bench Back Reserved and Bleacher Reserved tickets are $32 for adults and $22 for children.
Parking at Western Carolina games is $15 for advance purchases and $20 on gamedays.
Concession prices are in line with what most college concession charge. Merchandise stands are located on both sides of the stadium, as well at the school bookstore, which is open on Saturdays when a home game is scheduled.
However, lodging can be very expensive during the fall foliage season in late September and early October. You might want to consider staying in Clayton, GA for lower prices and not too long of a gameday drive the rest of the way up to Cullowhee.
Extras 5
So… what’s a Catamount? A Catamount is any type of wild cat such as a cougar, lynx or a bobcat. These types of cats are found in the mountains surrounding the WCU campus. Western Carolina is the only college football team in the country using Catamounts as its nickname.
Western Carolina has two rivalry games each season. They play Appalachian State University with the winner taking home the Old Mountain Jug and they play East Tennessee State University in the Blue Ridge Border Battle. WCU has a victory bell which can be transported to both home and away games. It is rung after wins and scores by the Catamounts.
The school offers an excellent yearbook, Extra Points, which includes information on every Catamount player, articles on the history of E.J Whitmire Stadium, a section on the various spirit squads, and profiles of the opposing teams that will be battling the Catamounts that season.
The beauty of the mountains surrounding the Western Carolina campus at their peak of fall foliage season is absolutely an extra.
Final Thoughts
The Catamounts have plenty to roar about in their newly upgraded mountain lair. There is so much more to brag about now than just a pretty place to play football amid the gorgeous fall foliage!
