Weston Field Athletic Complex is a
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
facility and home of the
Williams Ephs football
The Williams Ephs football program represent Williams College of Williamstown, Massachusetts in the sport of college football. The football team is coached by Mark Raymond, who has held the position since the start of the 2016 season. The team play ...
team in
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...
, United States. Although primarily used for
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, the complex also hosts the home fields for the Williams College
track & 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 ...
,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
and
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
programs. Renovations completed in 2014 include artificial turf surfaces, a new grandstand, an addition for field hockey, a new track, lighting for the fields and a large support building. Weston Field biennially hosts the Williams-Amherst football game, known as
The Biggest Little Game in America
The ‘Biggest Little Game in America’ is an American college football rivalry featuring the Amherst Mammoths (formerly known as the Lord Jeffs) and the Williams Ephs. Both programs play in the Division III New England Small College Athletic ...
, the most-played Division III football rivalry game and the only Division III game to have hosted
College GameDay.
History
In 1884, Williams College purchased the land at the present-day athletic site from the Sherman family on Meacham Street. In 1886, ex-Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Byron Weston
Captain Byron Curtis Weston (April 9, 1832 – November 8, 1898) was a native of Massachusetts who founded the Weston Paper Company in 1863 (which ceased to exist following its sale in 2008) and served as the 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Massachu ...
donated $5,300 to the College. This money was used to grade and improve drainage of the complex. By 1893, Weston Field encompassed 13 acres that included facilities for baseball and football. Subsequently, Weston contributed another $2,500 to help fund the creation of an athletic cinder track and the construction of a grandstand that was completed in 1901.
Although maintenance upgrades and improvements occurred during the next several decades, a major renovation of Weston Field didn't occur until the late 1980s, when the
Anthony Plansky
Anthony Joseph Plansky (June 20, 1900 – February 10, 1979) was an American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and Boston Braves.
Biography
A native of South Boston, Ma ...
Track, funded by
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
, was completed (1987) along with a three-story press box and aluminum bleachers on the east side of the field. The Renzi Lamb Field for lacrosse and intramural sports, completed in 2004, was the first artificial turf facility in
Berkshire County
Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in ...
.
2014 Renovations
On October 15, 2012, Williams College President
Adam Falk
Adam Frederick Falk is the President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Earlier in his career, Falk was the President of Williams College, a university administrator at Johns Hopkins University, and a theoretical physicist.
Early life
Falk is a ...
announced a $22 million renovation project with new facilities for football, field hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, and men's and women's track. Construction began immediately after the 2013 Williams-Amherst football game and was completed in time for the 2014 football season.
The new Complex includes artificial turf with expanded lighting on the playing
fields, which allows four-season athletic practice.
Geology
Weston Field is adjacent to Christmas Brook that drains more than 640 acres of higher ground located to the southwest of downtown Williamstown. The field's location proximity to Christmas Brook and its associated wetlands has made it susceptible to recurrent drainage problems. A thick, impervious layer of clay beneath Weston Field keeps the groundwater close to the surface during any wet period. The field of thick sod was susceptible to intermittent muddy conditions. Former Williams College football coach,
Dick Farley
Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to:
Media
* ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia
* Dicks (band), a musical group
* ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film
* "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat
Names
...
, reflecting on Weston's history recalled a memorable game in 1995. The Williams versus
Amherst Amherst may refer to:
People
* Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst''
* Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
game, televised by ESPN, was played in a quagmire; neither side was able to achieve significant yardage resulting in a 0–0 tie.
An engineering study submitted to the Williamstown Conservation Commission details the various soils present and hydrology issues that are associated with Weston Field. These problems will be rectified during the current renovation.
[Conservation Commission Submission Weston Field – May 9, 2013 by Clough Harbour & Associates, LLP CHA Project No. 24790
]
References
External links
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoR2mjyj9Ok.
*http://static.psbin.com/d/6/3dj378wg9eli9x/Weston_Athletic_Complex_9-2014.mp4.
{{Massachusetts college football venues
College football venues
American football venues in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Sports in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Williams Ephs football