Facilities - Athletics Buildings and Fields
Fred P. Rullo Jr. Stadium
This state-of-the-art, artificial turf stadium,
located just south of the Bob Carpenter
Sports/Convocation Center, was dedicated
on September 18, 1998. Its construction was
made possible, in part, by the generous
donation of one UD alumnus: Fred P. Rullo
Jr. of Bryn Mawr, Pa., AS '63, a former
letterwinner in football and baseball. He
and his wife, Madeleine, gave the
University $1 million toward the $3.3
million cost of the stadium.
The
stadium, home to the women's field hockey
team, also houses physical education
classes; intramural and recreation program
events; high school field hockey and
lacrosse championships; and Special
Olympics events.
The
stadium served as host to the 2000 United
States Intercollegiate Lacrosse
Association (USILA) North-South Senior
All-Star Game.
Rullo
Stadium features an artificial turf
surface (Astro Turf-12 surface installed in 2008) covering 122,928 square feet (2.82
acres) permits a full-sized game field for
all applicable sports as well as two
side-by-side practice areas running across
the field.
The field is
watered before field hockey play and
practice by four sprinklers, which deliver
400 gallons of water a minute, throwing it
200 feet. There is bleacher seating for
approximately 2,000 fans, lights, a press box, a
multi-sport scoreboard and blacktopped
parking behind the bleachers.
Fred P.
Rullo Stadium was completed in time for
the 1998 field hockey season in September
and the Blue Hen field hockey, men's
lacrosse, and women's lacrosse teams all
used the new stadium for an impressive
home field advantage. The Delaware field hockey squad has won nearly 60 percent of its home games since Rullo Stadium opened, putting together a 65-49 record. During that time, the Blue Hens have competed in eighth conference tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2009.
The Delaware men's lacrosse squad practiced and played its home games at Rullo until 2010 while the UD women called Rullo home until the 2011 campaign. Both now play their home games at Delaware Stadium.
In
announcing the gift, then University of
Delaware President David P. Roselle said,
"It's been said nothing ever built rose to
touch the skies unless someone dreamed it
should, someone dreamed it could and
someone willed that it must."
"That
should, could, and must have come together
in the form of Fred P. Rullo Jr.," Roselle
said, "and we are extremely
grateful."
The Board
of Trustees, at its semiannual meeting on
May 26, 1998, asked to affirm a resolution
naming the new facility in recognition of
Rullo, a faithful and generous supporter
of the University who serves on the board
of the UD Athletic Fund.
Rullo and
his wife, Madeleine, have three children,
two of whom are UD alumni - Patricia a
member of the class of '85, and Linda, who
graduated in 1987. Linda is a former
member of the University of Delaware
women's lacrosse team.
Rullo, now
retired, had a distinguished career with
Atlantic Richfield and the Freedom
Chemical Co., serving as chairman,
president and CEO of the latter company,
which was sold to B.F. Goodrich Co.
Desso DLW
of Dendermonde, Belgium installed the original Action Turf nylon surface for the cost
of the polypropylene and to donate an
installed $40,000 watering system and
woven field hockey lines in return for use
of the University of Delaware as its "showcase facility" in the United States.
Approximately 98 percent of the field
hockey fields in Europe are made by this
company.
DD Martin
of Hunt Valley, Md., which handled the
artificial turf project, and the Clark Co.
of New York, which did all of the sub-base
work, including drainage, conduit, stone
base, lights, and bleacher foundations,
also were partners in the
project.
The 2011 University of Delaware field hockey team
Sports at this Facility
Phone Numbers
- Ticket Information (302) UD1-HENS
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Directions to the Bob Carpenter Center
- From the North and the East :
I-95 South to Delaware exit 1-B, Route 896 north. Bob Carpenter Center is located on right just after Routes 4/896 intersection.
- From the South (Maryland) and the West:
I-95 North to Maryland Exit 109B, Route 279 north (also called Route 2). Proceed on this road which becomes Elkton Road into Newark. Turn right at the intersection of Routes 2 (279) and 4. Turn left at intersection of Routes 4/896. The Bob Carpenter Center is located on the right.
- From the Southern Delaware
Route 1 North to Route 896 North.
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