Joe Nathan Field is a
baseball field on the
campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...
of
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
in
Stony Brook,
New York
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* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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Film and television
* '' ...
, United States. The field is home to the team of the
NCAA Division I America East Conference. It is located at the northern end of the school's athletics complex.
[Facilities & Directions](_blank)
at goseawolves.cstv.com, URL accessed October 7, 2009
October 7, 2009 The field opened on May 20, 2011, replacing Stony Brook's old baseball field, which was known as University Field from 2002 to 2011. The old facility was known as Seawolves Field through the 2002 season, when its name was changed to University Field.
at seawolves.cstv.com, URL accessed October 7, 2009
October 7, 2009
at seawolves.cstv.com, URL accessed October 7, 2009
October 7, 2009
The stadium is named after then–
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
pitcher and Stony Brook alumnus
Joe Nathan, after Nathan's $500,000 gift made extensive renovations possible. The stadium's construction cost was $1.3 million.
History
In August 2008, the Joe Nathan Charitable Foundation donated $500,000 to the Stony Brook athletic department for the construction of a new baseball facility. Construction on the field took place from 2010 to 2011. Compared to the previous University Field, the dimensions of left and right field expanded from 320 to 330 feet, while center field was reduced from 410 to 390 feet, and the grass surface was replaced with FieldTurf.
The field opened on May 20, 2011, for a doubleheader against
Albany. In the first game played on the field, Stony Brook defeated Albany 6–2.
Nick Tropeano was the first player to pitch on Joe Nathan Field.
Joe Nathan Field has hosted the
America East Conference baseball tournament in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
.
2021 championship game controversy
Joe Nathan Field was typically barred from hosting the America East baseball tournament because the facility lacks lights to allow for nighttime play. However, as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the America East announced that the 2021 tournament would be held at the site of the regular season champion regardless of its standards, allowing for Stony Brook to host.
This ended in controversy when the America East postponed and later canceled the championship game between Stony Brook and
NJIT with Stony Brook up 1–0 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning. As the field lacked lights, the game could not be completed and the America East awarded NJIT the bid to the NCAA tournament, despite Stony Brook being regular season champions, because NJIT had yet to lose in the double-elimination tournament while Stony Brook had lost once. The decision resulted in significant negative backlash against the America East.
Later that year, Stony Brook athletic director Shawn Heilbron expressed a need to renovate Joe Nathan Field with a master plan completed, but needed to raise $5 million in order to make it happen.
Gallery
File:JoeNathanEntrance.jpg, The entrance to Joe Nathan Field.
File:Joe Nathan Field.jpeg, Joe Nathan Field during a Stony Brook baseball game in 2019.
File:Nathan Retired Jersey SBU.jpeg, Joe Nathan's retired No. 22 on the bleachers of Joe Nathan Field.
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
This is a list of stadiums that currently serve as the home venue for National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I college baseball teams. Conference affiliations reflect those in the coming 2023 NCAA baseball season. ...
References
External links
Joe Nathan FieldStony Brook University, Joe Nathan Field Master Plan
{{New York NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox
College baseball venues in the United States
Sports venues in New York (state)
Sports venues in Suffolk County, New York
Stony Brook Seawolves baseball
Baseball venues in New York (state)
2011 establishments in New York (state)
Sports venues completed in 2011