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Tours

  1. Athletics Tour

    Take a virtual tour of the Mountaineer Athletic facilities.

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    1. Decker Gymnasium

      Overlooking the campus of Mansfield University, Decker Gymnasium has been the home of Mountaineer men's and women's basketball since 1970. The complex was dedicated in honor of Marion "Spotts" Decker who served as Athletics Director and the Chairman of the Health and Physical Education Department from 1946-1965. Decker graduated from Mansfield State Normal School in 1924.

      The three-story sports complex includes the main basketball arena with permanent seating for 1,600 fans and can be expanded to accommodate 2,500 fans for championship and concert venues. Brand new seating was installed prior to the 2008-09 season and a completely resurfaced and redesigned floor was completed at the end of summer 2012.

      An upgraded and expanded sound system was installed in early 2018 to provide a high quality audio experience for fans and student-athletes. The system features four speakers facing the crowd and two directed at either side of the basketball court.

      The 25-yard indoor pool seats up to 600 spectators for competitions. The facility has been updated with new starting blocks and a touch-timing system in recent years.

      The building also includes administrative and coaching offices for athletics as well as classrooms, meeting rooms and locker rooms for each sport. The main lobby contains the Athletic Hall of Fame display.

      Decker is home to the fully equipped physical therapy and athletic training suite along with an athletic weight room.

      The Sports Information Multimedia Room located on the second floor of Decker houses state-of-the-art photography and video production equipment for headshots and feature videos. The multimedia room is available to members of the media for player and coach interviews.
      The Decker Weight Room is part of the Marion Decker Gymnasium complex and is located on the first floor of the building below the basketball court. Following the addition of Mansfield's first full-time strength and conditioning coach in 2015, the facility has transformed into one of the best in the conference.
       
      In 2016, the facility doubled in size with the addition of an attached room complete with new flooring and a 25 x 5 yard indoor turf area for all-season training. The new area also features a pull-up bar station complete with TRX suspension trainers, speed and agility equipment (two drive sleds, parachutes, weighted vests, and bands for sprint resistance), and core and plyometric training equipment (medicine balls, stability balls, sand bags, tractor tires, bosu balls, bands, mini bands, hurdles, kettle bells and battle ropes).
       
      The existing weight room area has seen the addition of four squat racks, two new functional trainers (cable machine), new weight plates, and new Olympic, power and trap/deadlift bars.

      The facility has also seen an upgrade in appearance with new signage featuring former Mansfield student-athletes adorning the walls.

    2. Karl Van Norman Field & Maxon Track

      Karl Van Norman Field has served as the home of Mansfield football since 1964 and became the new home of Mountaineer field hockey in 2013. Van Norman Field also serves as an alternate playing surface for the women's soccer program.

      Considered one of the most scenic fields in Pennsylvania collegiate athletics, Van Norman is nestled below Decker Gymnasium on the Mansfield University campus just off Route 6.

      The home south-side stands provide 2,000 permanent seats with overflow crowds spreading out on the grassy hill above the stands. The visitor’s north side stands provide permanent seating for 500 fans.

      Van Norman Field was upgraded in the summer of 2013 to include a state-of-the-art AstroTurf field complete with football, field hockey and soccer lines to replace the natural grass surface. The facility upgrade also included the addition of four lighting towers which gives Mansfield the ability to host nighttime sporting events.

      With the upgrade to an AstroTurf surface, Van Norman Field became the new home to the Mountaineer field hockey program who previously played and practiced on the natural grass surface of Spaulding Field across campus. Van Norman Field also serves as an alternate field for the Mansfield women's soccer program.

      Mountaineer field hockey played the first official game on the new Van Norman Field AstroTurf against No. 2 Shippensburg on Saturday, Sept. 14 in front of an NCAA regular season record crowd of 2,011 fans. The crowd was the largest in NCAA Division II field hockey history and the third largest to ever watch an NCAA Division I, II, or III field hockey contest.

      The Mansfield sprint football team hosted the first official night game at Van Norman Field on Sept. 14 with a 24-14 win over Princeton University in front of a record crowd of 6,223 people. The game marked the first night football game in Mansfield in 121 years. Mansfield is recognized by the NFL and College Football Halls of Fame as hosting the world’s first night football game on Sept. 28, 1892 at Smythe Park.

      Mountaineer women's soccer hosted the program's first night contest at Van Norman Field on Oct. 9 with a 3-1 victory over Goldey-Beacom College.

      The complex is named in honor of Karl Van Norman who was an integral part of the Mountaineer football program for more than 50 years. The son of a professor at Mansfield State Normal School, Van Norman became a star player for the Mountaineers at quarterback during the 1904, 1905 and 1906 seasons. He is credited with throwing the first forward pass in school history to Ellwood “Doc” Fenton in 1906. Fenton went on to fame at the quarterback at LSU and is a member of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. Van Norman served as an assistant from 1916 through the 1950s and is credited with saving the program and its history.

      In 2017, Karl Van Norman Field was listed on the NCAA's DII football's must-see stadiums for the die-hard fan: Fan's choice (Link).

      Van Norman Field has also served as the site for university commencement ceremonies, the Tioga County Special Olympics, interscholastic competition, intramural contests, and more.

    3. Lutes Softball Field

      Opened in 1995, Helen Lutes Field is named in honor of longtime Mansfield physical education teacher Helen Dieffenbach Lutes. The field was dedicated April 15, 1995 during a game between Lutes' alma mater of East Stroudsburg and the Mountaineers.

      A member of the Mansfield University Athletic Hall of Fame, Lutes coached tennis which was Mansfield’s first varsity sport for women. In addition to her coaching and teaching duties, Lutes was also in charge of women’s intramural programs at Mansfield, a position that was strictly volunteer at the time. Lutes chaired the Health and Physical Education department from 1968 until her retirement in 1974.
      Sitting in the same aluminum lawn chair at the end of the bench in the dugout, Lutes missed just one game in a nine-year span before her passing in 2003 at the age of 94. Head coach Edith Gallagher sets the same chair up in the dugout for every home game so Helen can still watch her girls play.
      Lutes Field has dimensions of 190 feet down the lines and 225 feet dead center. The field sits adjacent to Karl Van Norman Field and below Decker Gymnasium.

      The field features a press box, athletic training facilities, bullpen, batting cages, full infield tarp, and digital scoreboard.

    4. Russell Field

      Russell Field serves as the grass surface practice football field and is home to the track & field throws area. The throws complex features a shot put sector, all-weather javelin runway and dedicated discus and hammer cages.

    5. Soccer Field

      The Soccer Field on the campus of Mansfield University was constructed in 2002 prior to the Mountaineer’s inaugural season of women’s soccer.

      The field features a digital scoreboard, public address system, covered home and visitor benches to protect from the elements, and bleachers seating up to 200 fans. Built in 2003, the soccer press box includes ample work space for game personnel and visiting media on the second floor with a team room on the ground level.

      Mountaineer soccer also uses the artificial surface of Karl Van Norman field as an alternate facility for games and practices.

    6. Shaute Baseball Field

      Joseph Shaute Field has been the home of Mountaineer baseball since the early 1970's and is one of the premier baseball complexes in northern Pennsylvania.

      The field was named in honor of Joseph B. Shaute, who was a standout pitcher for the Mountaineers in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Shaute left Mansfield for the major leagues in 1922 and broke in with the Cleveland Indians. In his major league debut, the first batter he faced was the legendary Babe Ruth, who he struck out on three straight pitches. However “The Babe” would get his revenge when in 1927 he blasted home runs number 30, 50, and 52 off Shaute en route to his historic 60 for the season.

      The complex boasts one of the largest seating capacities of any stadium in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with eight sets of bleachers. The field features a nine-inning scoreboard, permanent rest rooms, complete drainage system, and a full infield tarp. The hitting area includes two Astroturf batting cages as well as six soft toss hitting boxes.

      Recent additions to Shaute Field include an Invisalign backstop and protective fencing in front of the home and visitor dugouts.

      The John Heaps Press Box is named after former baseball coach John Heaps, who compiled a 287-187 record in 16 seasons at Mansfield. The bottom area contains space for equipment storage while the upper floor has room for home and visiting radio and a 10-seat media area.

    7. Kelchner Fitness Center

      Kelchner Fitness Center is Mansfield University’s service campus recreation center.  The fitness center has 4 racquetball courts, 3 multipurpose basketball courts, a 30 foot high climbing wall, a state of the art fitness room and a separate free weight room.

       

      Fitness Center

    8. Lamb's Creek Cross Country Course


      The Lamb’s Creek Cross Country Course is a national class facility located 2.5 miles from the Mansfield University campus along the scenic Tioga River basin. Construction of the cross country only facility began in 2004 with regular maintenance taking place from 2007 onward.

      The flat, spectator friendly course is 99% grass and features a running lane of 18 feet throughout the entire run. Sixty percent of a race can be viewed from a single location.

      The Lamb’s Creek course is home to the annual MU Flatlander Invitational. It played host to the NCAA Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships in 2009 and both the PSAC and ECAC Championships in 2014.

      When not training at the Lamb’s Creek course, the Mountaineer cross country teams train at Hills Creek State Park, the Pine Creek Rail Trail, Colton Point, and the Mansfield Army Corps of Engineers bike path.

    9. Thank You!

      Thank you for touring the Mansfield University Athletic facilities!

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