Ludwig Field (officially Kehoe Track at Ludwig Field) is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
stadium located on the campus of the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
(UMD) in
College Park, Maryland. Since its opening in 1995, it has been the home of the Terrapin men's and women's soccer teams. The facility also includes a
running track
An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...
.
History
Kehoe Track at Ludwig Field was dedicated on September 16, 1995 and is home to the University of Maryland's
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
and
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
teams. Built at a cost of $2.5 million, the facility is named after former Maryland track head coach and Director of Athletics
Jim Kehoe
James Henry Kehoe, Jr. (June 3, 1918 – January 17, 2010) was an American athletics coach and university administrator. He served as the athletic director at the University of Maryland from 1969 to 1978, during which time he was responsible fo ...
, and Bob and Louise Ludwig, long-time supporters of Maryland Athletics.
A state-of-the-art scoreboard was added to the north end of the stadium in 2004. In 2007, a media press box was installed behind the west grandstand and an additional 1,500 seats were added to increase seating capacity from 4,500 to 6,000. In 2009, the capacity increased from 6,500 to 7,000.
Maryland men's soccer has won six
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
soccer championships (1996, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013), two
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
(B1G) championships (2014, 2016), and three NCAA national championships (2005, 2008, 2018) as tenants of Ludwig Field.
Attendance and Fan Support
Ludwig Field is one of the most well-attended college soccer facilities in the country. As of the 2019 season, Maryland has finished top-10 in attendance among all
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
men's soccer programs each year since 2002. Maryland led the Big Ten Conference in attendance during its inaugural campaign, hosting three of the top-10 largest home crowds in the NCAA and finishing second in the nation in total home attendance (43,008) and fourth in the nation in average home attendance (2,688) in 2014.
The support for the men's soccer team includes a passionate fan group known as "The Crew." The Crew was formed in 2003 by student Mike Mastrantuono and a group of his friends, and has since grown to nearly 2000 fans. The first appearance of The Crew was at the first home game of the 2003 season, at which Maryland defeated
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
1-0.
Though the facility's capacity is officially listed at 7,000, Maryland routinely hosts larger crowds. On October 14, 2011, Ludwig Field hosted its then-largest crowd with 7,957 spectators for the Maryland men's soccer victory over Duke.
That attendance record was broken on September 6, 2013 when 8,397 fans looked on as Maryland men's soccer, in its final
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
season, defeated Duke.
Footnotes
External links
*
{{Maryland Terrapins men's soccer navbox
Soccer venues in Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park facilities
College soccer venues in the United States
College lacrosse venues in the United States
Sports venues completed in 1995
1995 establishments in Maryland
College track and field venues in the United States
Athletics (track and field) venues in Maryland
Maryland Terrapins sports venues
Maryland Terrapins soccer
Maryland Terrapins track and field