Kentner Stadium

Ever since construction was completed prior to the 1990 season, Campus Stadium has been a hub of activity for Wake Forest athletics, the university community, and the City of Winston-Salem.

However, in 1997, there's been a change. Still the same outstanding multipurpose facility, what was once Campus Stadium is now Kentner Stadium, named in honor of Jeff Kentner ('78), of Greensboro, N.C. Kentner, president and owner of State Street Partners, Inc., recently made the largest gift to date to the Touchdown 2000 athletic fund-raising effort.

The multipurpose facility was part of a $55 million construction and renovation plan and is now the permanent home for the Demon Deacon field hockey and track and field teams.

Other projects that were completed through this effort included the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, home to the 1995 and 1996 ACC championship men's basketball team, James H. Leighton Tennis Stadium, Gene Hooks Baseball Stadium, and the Jesse Haddock Golf Center.

Prior to the construction's completion, the field hockey team competed on the natural grass surface of Polo Field, which now serves as the site for Spry Stadium and the Wake Forest soccer programs.

Recognized as one of the most beautiful facilities of its kind in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Kentner Stadium has hosted a number of major events in its relatively brief history.

The most impressive thing added to the stadium's resume came last year when Wake Forest hosted the NCAA Field Hockey Championships. That marked the first time a national title has been determined in a campus facility as North Carolina, James Madison, Maryland and Northeastern all battled for the championship before the Tar Heels came out victorious.

The 1992 and 1993 ACC Field Hockey Tournaments hold the distinction as being the first championship events hosted in the facility, while the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place in 1995.

In addition, Kentner Stadium has been the site of the annual Forsyth County Special Olympics and spring football game.

Part of Kentner Stadium's appeal is the fact that many Deacon athletic teams can use it for conditioning or practice. The synthetic, sand-filled artificial turf is used by the Wake Forest football team on many occasions while nearly every other coach utilizes the track for conditioning purposes.

Besides those occasions, the stadium is also used by the Wake Forest Health and Exercise Science Department for its cardiac rehabilitation program three days a week. The department also uses the track for a variety of academic classes while the intramural office takes advantage of the stadium's many attributes for football, softball, and other sports.

Students, faculty members, and administrators are also seen frequently using the stadium's track to either run or walk during lunch time or after classes.

The facility houses permanent seating for nearly 4,000 spectators as well as a press box, upper-level viewing area, restrooms, lights, a state-of-the-art scoreboard, and concession facilities.

"We feel extremely fortunate to have a first-class facility like this to play our home matches in because it creates a big-time atmosphere," says Wake Forest field hockey head coach Jennifer Averill. "Our players always get excited about playing in front of a big stadium crowd. It's a lot different when you can play your games in a stadium as opposed to a normal field with just a few sets of bleachers put along the sideline."