Virtue Field House Dedication Set for January 24

Five members will be inducted into Middlebury Athletics Hall of Fame

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury will celebrate the past, present, and future of athletics at the College with this weekend’s dedication of a new field house and induction of the inaugural members of the Athletics Hall of Fame.

Virtue Field House will open to the public on Saturday, January 24. The dedication ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. and will feature remarks by President Ronald D. Liebowitz, Director of Athletics Erin Quinn ’86, and Board of Trustees member J. Edward Virtue ’82.

The 110,000-square-foot structure, connected to the south end of the Peterson Family Athletics Complex, is home to the six-lane, 200-meter New Balance Foundation Track, which features nine 60-meter sprint lanes. On the inside of the track, McCormick Field is a versatile 21,000-square-foot Field Turf surface for varsity, club, intramural, and recreational purposes. The field house also has areas for jumping, vaulting, and throwing events outside the new oval.

The new facility will enable Middlebury College to host regional and NCAA championship meets for the first time in history.

A remarkable feature of the newly enlarged and renovated lobby of the Peterson Family Athletics Complex is the Middlebury Athletics History Wall – a 16-foot by 5-foot interactive display that enables visitors to explore the rich history of sports at the College. Holly Allen, assistant professor of American studies, and her students have assembled and cataloged more than 6,000 images that are now part of the wall’s digital archive.

Another unique feature is the Fritz Family Balcony that runs high along the east side of the field house. It contains more than 30 treadmills, elliptical trainers, and other pieces of exercise equipment.

Later Saturday evening at a special dinner, Middlebury will induct its first class of members into the Athletics Hall of Fame. The College will honor five remarkable athletes who have competed for Middlebury over the last century: Ray Fisher of the Class of 1910 for baseball, football, and track & field, Phil Latreille ’61 for ice hockey, John Bower ’63 for Nordic skiing, Dorcas DenHartog Wonsavage ’87 for Nordic skiing and cross country, and Heidi Howard Allen ’99 for field hockey and lacrosse.

President Liebowitz and Athletic Director Quinn will welcome guests to the Hall of Fame event and speak about Middlebury’s proud heritage of excellence and sportsmanship in athletics. Then each of the five honorees (the late Ray Fisher will be represented by his grandson, John Leidy) will be introduced by a former coach or friend.

The massive field house, which is still receiving the final touches before completion, is notable not only for its size, but for its sustainability. About twice the size of the building it is replacing, it will consume slightly less energy than its predecessor. Virtue Field House features eight, 24-foot-wide ceiling fans to circulate air, LED lighting, recycled material in the flooring, super insulated walls and ceilings, an abundance of natural light, and numerous spaces designed for flexible uses. Middlebury plans to seek an LEED Gold designation for the project from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The entire field house project including the squash center, which opened in October 2013, has been fully funded by gifts from alumni, parents, and other donors.