One of Muhlenberg College's most venerable athletic facilities will enter a new chapter in its life this fall.
Varsity Field, which has been in continuous use since the inception of the men's soccer program in 1943, will get several enhancements, most notably having its grass field replaced with synthetic turf.
"This is a great improvement," said Muhlenberg President Kathy Harring. "Collegiate athletics is an important component of our educational programming, so we aim to provide the best possible facilities for practice and competition. They are classrooms and laboratories for student development."
The completed project will make Muhlenberg one of just three institutions in the Centennial Conference with two on-campus turf facilities, providing more opportunities for practice and competition with fewer scheduling conflicts and less missed class time throughout the year.
The new surface will be home to two women's teams and one men's team, with the Mule soccer teams sharing it in the fall and women's lacrosse playing on it in the spring.
The new Varsity Field will feature a FieldTurf CORE-2 system. CORE's three-layer infill system has showcased a significantly lower incidence of injuries per recent research conducted at Idaho State University. The surface is used at several Division I institutions, including the University of Connecticut, where the Muhlenberg men's soccer team practiced en route to Springfield College for the 2021 ECAC Tournament.
"We are very excited for the new turf field as it will provide a consistent surface for our team to train and play competitive matches on throughout the year," said men's coach Sean Topping '98.
Women's lacrosse, which played on Varsity Field for three seasons in the late 1990s, will have a facility of its own in the spring after previously sharing Scotty Wood Stadium with the men's lacrosse and track & field teams, as well as other teams who sought practice time on the turf in the winter months when their grass fields were frozen or covered with snow.
"We are looking forward to having a facility in which women's lacrosse will have first choice for spring practices and games," said women's lacrosse coach Kristen Stuckel. "This will enable our team to have priority with optimal practice times, and our athletes will be able to work out on their own throughout the day.
"It will be a transition for us, but I am looking forward to working with the team to make it a special site that will provide an exciting setting for our program to continue to grow and flourish in the Centennial Conference."
The new field is scheduled to be dedicated at a women's lacrosse game in the spring.
Varsity Field, which sits at the corner of Liberty and 26th Streets and offers a picturesque view of campus, has been the site of many important soccer games. It has hosted ECAC Tournament games five times, Centennial Conference playoff games 11 times and NCAA Tournament games seven times in the last quarter-century. The Muhlenberg men, who won the Centennial championship on the road last year, hosted the NCAA "Sweet 16" in 2014.
Additional enhancements will include better access via updated walkways to the field's bleachers and parking areas, upgraded player structures, new netting at the field's corners, updated branding and improved resources for game-time videography.
The conversion of Varsity Field is the latest upgrade to Muhlenberg's athletic facilities since 2020, following the resurfacing of the Scotty Wood Stadium turf and the Kern Field tennis courts and the installation of a new floor in Memorial Hall. The installation of a hammer cage is scheduled for the fall, and the College is currently exploring options for improving the home facilities for the Mule baseball and softball teams.
