Fitzgerald Field House
Encyclopedia
Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, United States
. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald
, a past chancellor
(1945–1955) of the university.
, gymnastics, and wrestling
. With an indoor track, the Field House also serves as the primary indoor facility for the university's track and field
team, as well as housing the wrestling training facility and the primary training and weight facilities for Pitt's Olympic sports. In addition, it contains the offices and locker rooms for baseball
, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, and tennis. The facility also has squash
courts. The Field House is connected by an underground tunnel to Trees Pool and the Gymnastics Training Center, both located in Trees Hall
.
Built in 1951, Fitzgerald Field House was, for five decades, the home of Pitt's basketball program
. It also served as the home basketball court of Pitt's intracity rival
, the Duquesne University Dukes
, from 1956-57 to 1963-64. From the 1980s until 2002, the Pitt men's basketball team also played selected Big East Conference
and non-conference games at Mellon Arena
. Pitt's women's basketball team
also used the Field House as their primary home court. Both the men's and women's Pitt basketball teams moved to the Petersen Events Center
in 2002.
In 1999, Fitzgerald Field House underwent a $3.8 million in renovations of existing facilities and a major addition to the west side of the building for locker rooms, team dressing rooms, and training and equipment rooms. In the summer of 2005, the wrestling training facility built in 1951 was reconstructed to be twice the size of the previous training facility and also received new floor and wall mats, a new ventilation system, new lighting, a video and recruitment room, and a balcony suspended above the mats featuring cardio equipment. In addition, an Olympic sports weight room was added to serve as a primary training facility for over 300 Pitt student-athletes and includes Hammer Strength and Nautilus Next Generation machines, nearly 8,600 pounds of free weights, and a comprehensive cardiovascular unit, including treadmills, stationary bikes and the Stairmaster Gauntlet. The renovations and addition of the weight room reduced the seating capacity from the original 6,798 seats to a capacity of 4,122.
Further renovations of the Field House in 2008 totaled $1.4 million and included new volleyball courts and installation of seating and electronic equipment to meet NCAA requirements. In November, 2011, the Nathan Hershey Athletic Training Facility was dedicated in the Field House.
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald
Rufus Fitzgerald
Rufus Henry Fitzgerald was the eleventh Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh.He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1919...
, a past chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
(1945–1955) of the university.
Usage
Fitzgerald Field House is the competitive venue for the Pitt varsity sports of volleyballPittsburgh Panthers volleyball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt volleyball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in Fitzgerald...
, gymnastics, and wrestling
Pittsburgh Panthers wrestling
Pittsburgh Panthers wrestling is the NCAA Division 1 intercollegiate wrestling program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. With an indoor track, the Field House also serves as the primary indoor facility for the university's track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
team, as well as housing the wrestling training facility and the primary training and weight facilities for Pitt's Olympic sports. In addition, it contains the offices and locker rooms for baseball
Pittsburgh Panthers baseball
Pittsburgh Panthers baseball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate baseball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt baseball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games at Charles L. Cost Field in...
, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, and tennis. The facility also has squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
courts. The Field House is connected by an underground tunnel to Trees Pool and the Gymnastics Training Center, both located in Trees Hall
Trees Hall
Joseph C. Trees Hall is a multipurpose student, staff, faculty recreational facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, Trees Hall first opened in 1962, and a second phase of...
.
Built in 1951, Fitzgerald Field House was, for five decades, the home of Pitt's basketball program
Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in...
. It also served as the home basketball court of Pitt's intracity rival
City Game
The City Game is an annual college basketball game between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Duquesne University Dukes. The term "City Game" is also used refer to women's basketball games played annually between the two universities and may also be used to refer to other athletic...
, the Duquesne University Dukes
Duquesne Dukes men's basketball
The Duquesne Dukes represent Duquesne University in college basketball. The team, which started in 1914, has only ever played in NCAA Division I and has had five appearances in the NCAA Tournament...
, from 1956-57 to 1963-64. From the 1980s until 2002, the Pitt men's basketball team also played selected Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
and non-conference games at Mellon Arena
Mellon Arena
Civic Arena is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is currently undergoing demolition. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with just shy of 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel...
. Pitt's women's basketball team
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt women's basketball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games...
also used the Field House as their primary home court. Both the men's and women's Pitt basketball teams moved to the Petersen Events Center
Petersen Events Center
Not to be confused with Petersen Sports Complex.The John M. and Gertrude E. Petersen Events Center is a 12,508-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It hosts the men's and women's Pitt Panthers basketball teams...
in 2002.
In 1999, Fitzgerald Field House underwent a $3.8 million in renovations of existing facilities and a major addition to the west side of the building for locker rooms, team dressing rooms, and training and equipment rooms. In the summer of 2005, the wrestling training facility built in 1951 was reconstructed to be twice the size of the previous training facility and also received new floor and wall mats, a new ventilation system, new lighting, a video and recruitment room, and a balcony suspended above the mats featuring cardio equipment. In addition, an Olympic sports weight room was added to serve as a primary training facility for over 300 Pitt student-athletes and includes Hammer Strength and Nautilus Next Generation machines, nearly 8,600 pounds of free weights, and a comprehensive cardiovascular unit, including treadmills, stationary bikes and the Stairmaster Gauntlet. The renovations and addition of the weight room reduced the seating capacity from the original 6,798 seats to a capacity of 4,122.
Further renovations of the Field House in 2008 totaled $1.4 million and included new volleyball courts and installation of seating and electronic equipment to meet NCAA requirements. In November, 2011, the Nathan Hershey Athletic Training Facility was dedicated in the Field House.
Notable events
- 1957 NCAA Wrestling ChampionshipNCAA Wrestling Team ChampionshipThe NCAA Wrestling Team Championship was first officially awarded in 1929 and began to be continuously awarded on an annual basis in 1934 except during World War II 1943-1945. In 1928 and from 1931 to 1933, there was only an unofficial title. Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State, won the 1928, 1931...
- 1962 Speech delivered by President John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
- 1963 NCAA Men's Gymnastics ChampionshipNCAA Men's Gymnastics championshipThis is a list of National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Gymnastics champions, by division and year. All schools currently compete in one division, because only 17 schools sponsor men's gymnastics teams...
- 1979 Eastern Wrestling LeagueEastern Wrestling LeagueThe Eastern Wrestling League is an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It is made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences do not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event...
Championship - 1979 Eastern AIAWAssociation for Intercollegiate Athletics for WomenThe Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships. It evolved out of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women . The association was one of the biggest...
Volleyball Championship - 1992 Eastern Wrestling LeagueEastern Wrestling LeagueThe Eastern Wrestling League is an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It is made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences do not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event...
Championship - 1998 NCAA Gymnastics Northeast Regional Championship
- 2000 Eastern Wrestling LeagueEastern Wrestling LeagueThe Eastern Wrestling League is an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It is made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences do not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event...
Championship - 2000 East Atlantic Gymnastics LeagueEast Atlantic Gymnastics LeagueThe East Atlantic Gymnastics League is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. Membership comprises eight universities:*George Washington University*University of Maryland*University of New Hampshire...
Championship - 2004 East Atlantic Gymnastics LeagueEast Atlantic Gymnastics LeagueThe East Atlantic Gymnastics League is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. Membership comprises eight universities:*George Washington University*University of Maryland*University of New Hampshire...
Championship - 2005 Senior OlympicsSenior OlympicsThe National Senior Games or "Senior Olympics" is a sports competition for seniors from the United States. It is a multi-sport event specifically devoted to adults aged 50+ . It is composed of regional competitions held yearly in all American states...
(basketball and shuffleboard) - 2008 Eastern Wrestling LeagueEastern Wrestling LeagueThe Eastern Wrestling League is an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It is made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences do not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event...
Championship - 12 Big East Volleyball Championships (2010, 2008, 2004, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1992, 1991, 1988, 1986)