[8] However, its wooden construction and limited seating capacity meant that after less than ten years there was significant momentum toward the building of a larger steel-and-concrete stadium for the Cornhuskers.

[8] The new stadium project was initially conceived as a combination gymnasium-stadium-war museum complex to be called the "Nebraska Soldiers and Sailors Memorial.

"[9] Enthusiasm for the fundraising effort was high following the death of former Nebraska football captain Dusty Rhodes, who was killed in action in France during World War I.

John Latenser Sr. of Omaha and Ellery L. Davis of Lincoln were selected as the head architects for the new stadium as they were willing to work pro bono.

Construction was completed on the 31,000-seat stadium in just over ninety days, in time for NU's first home game of the 1923 season, a 24–0 win over Oklahoma on October 13.

Each corner of the stadium was given an inscription from philosophy professor Hartley Burr Alexander:[10] The playing field is aligned north-south at an approximate elevation of 1,150 feet (350 m) above sea level.

[12] After struggling for years to acquire the necessary land in the adjoining neighborhood, construction finally began in 1941, only to be quickly halted due to the United States' entry into World War II.

Construction resumed after the war ended and the Schulte Fieldhouse was completed in 1946, providing locker rooms, extra practice facilities, and showers to the football program.

In the early 1980s, portable lighting was occasionally used to allow Memorial Stadium to host late afternoon games on national television, often against Oklahoma.

While this construction was ongoing, former quarterback Brook Berringer was killed in a private plane crash on April 18, 1996, just two days before the 1996 NFL draft, where he was projected to be an early- to mid-round pick.

Berringer, a Scottsbluff native, was beloved for starting and winning several crucial games in place of injured starter Tommie Frazier during NU's 1994 national championship-winning season.

Construction began in 2004 to renovate and expand the north end zone, adding an additional 6,000 seats and thirteen luxury boxes called "Skyline Suites," which brought the stadium's capacity to 81,067.

The expansion included creation of the first standing room-only area in Memorial Stadium, and was made available for companies and private parties to host events on a game-to-game basis.

[22] With the university experiencing a $58 million budget shortfall, regent Barbara Weitz suggested in June 2024 that a columbarium be built beneath the football field, where the ashes of fans could be inurned.

In 1970,[32] as part of head coach Bob Devaney's crusade to improve athletic facilities across the university, the stadium was fit with AstroTurf, an artificial turf glued to a foam plastic layer on a six-inch (15 cm) bed of asphalt.

A third FieldTurf iteration was installed in 2013, featuring a "lighter and cooler" playing surface by adding cork to the traditional top layer of recycled tire pellets.

A total of 92,003 people gathered inside Memorial Stadium for Volleyball Day in Nebraska, which also featured an exhibition match between two in-state NCAA Division II schools, the Nebraska–Kearney Lopers and the Wayne State Wildcats.