* Directions to Schoellkopf Field
* Friends Hall Photo Gallery
Schoellkopf Field is the home of Big Red football, sprint football, and men's and women's lacrosse. The facility has undergone many great changes over the years, resulting in today’s magnificent structure.
During the 19th century, many of Cornell’s athletic teams trained on Percy Field where Ithaca High School now stands. During the early 1900s, though, Cornell’s population grew quickly and Percy Field was no longer suitable for the growing number of Cornell athletes.
Gradually, the idea of having adequate athletic facilities on campus developed. The Alumni Field Committee was created to consider this possibility and they persuaded the university set aside land for a field. The committee “strove, pled, and prayed” for donations to the proposed athletic facilities.
Because of a generous donation from Willard Straight ’01, the construction of a field house was made possible. The contribution came in memory of his friend, Henry (Heinie) Schoellkopf ’02, an outstanding football player and a “beloved gentle giant.” It is said that he once dove 70 feet into a gorge pool to rescue a drowning dog.
The Schoellkopf family themselves then responded to Straight’s donation and helped finance the project. Finally, construction of Schoellkopf Field, which would be on the highest point on campus, could take place. Schoellkopf Field was ready to open the fall of 1915. The University planned a huge parade from the Arts Quad to the field for the dedication exercises and opening football game. Everyone in Cornellundergraduates, faculty and staff, in addition to alumni and invited guestswas expected to participate.
On Saturday, October 9, 1915, all campus activities were suspended at noon. An estimated crowd of 6,000 quickly gathered in front of Goldwin Smith Hall as instructed by the University. President Jacob Gould Schurman slowly led the procession to the awaiting Schoellkopf Field. The impressive parade was the largest turnout of its kind in the Ithaca area at the time.
Exactly five years after the dedication, the General Electric Company completed work on a flood searchlight system for the field, which was designed to illuminate the field without causing glare visible to the players. The project was of major importance to athletic teams, especially in the fall and winter months, when shortened hours of daylight cut down after-class practice time.
Before 1915, the largest crowd to assemble for an athletic event in Ithaca was less than 5,000. The development of automobiles and improvement of roads brought larger and larger crowds to the stadium. Soon, it became apparent that Schoellkopf’s capacity of 9,000 was no longer sufficient.
In 1921, a study and report was commissioned and in the spring of 1923, University trustees approved the plans to reconstruct the east side stands. Construction began that winter and in September, 1924, the Crescent was completed increasing capacity to 21,500. In June, 1947, permanent steel stands on the west side of Schoellkopf Field were built boosting total stadium capacity to 25,597.
Schoellkopf Field was one of the University’s most valuable, but least used areas on campus until the introduction of an artificial turf. In early 1971, it was announced that an anonymous donor had made a gift for turf on Schoellkopf Field. The person who first benefited from the artificial surface was probably Cornell’s star tailback Ed Marinaro ’72, who eventually broke every school rushing record. The field has since been resurfaced three times, most recently in 1999.
Expansion and growth for Schoellkopf Field continued. The new press box was built in 1986, and the stands have been refurbished. In 2006, the Big Red moved into the newly renovated Schoellkopf Memorial Hall, which includes an addition featuring new locker rooms, meeting rooms, a football tradition room and coaches offices. Schoellkopf Field has become an irreplaceable part of Cornell’s athletic tradition and campus.
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