Welch Stadium
Encyclopedia
Welch Stadium is a sport stadium in Emporia, Kansas
. The facility is primarily used by the Emporia State University
football
and track & field
teams. It is named to honor long-time Emporia State coach and athletic director Fran Welch
. The facility was one of the first on the NCAA Division II level to offer enclosed skyboxes and is still one of only a few across the nation.
in 1937. The Hornets tied St. Benedict's College by a score of 20-20. More than 6,000 fans saw the first game in the facility. The largest crowd on record for a football game was the 1973 game against Northern Colorado
. The record crowd of 10,000 saw the Hornets to a 10-0 victory as the Hornets vaulted to a No. 3 ranking in the NAIA.
and other sporting events.
Welch Stadium served three times as the site for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
. The facility is primarily used by the Emporia State University
Emporia State University
Emporia State University is a university in the city of Emporia in Lyon County, Kansas, just east of the Flint Hills.- History :...
football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and track & 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...
teams. It is named to honor long-time Emporia State coach and athletic director Fran Welch
Fran Welch
Francis George Welch was a college football, track and field coach and athletic director in the United States. He was of the first three coaches to be selected for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Track and Field Hall of Fame and is a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of...
. The facility was one of the first on the NCAA Division II level to offer enclosed skyboxes and is still one of only a few across the nation.
Stadium History
The first football game at Welch Stadium came on Armistice DayArmistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
in 1937. The Hornets tied St. Benedict's College by a score of 20-20. More than 6,000 fans saw the first game in the facility. The largest crowd on record for a football game was the 1973 game against Northern Colorado
University of Northern Colorado
-Organization:The University of Northern Colorado offers 100 undergraduate programs and more than 100 graduate programs. The university has a satellite campus in Denver, Colorado...
. The record crowd of 10,000 saw the Hornets to a 10-0 victory as the Hornets vaulted to a No. 3 ranking in the NAIA.
Other uses
The stadium is used by the local high school for games, college and community events, Special OlympicsSpecial Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
and other sporting events.
Welch Stadium served three times as the site for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.