Field of Dreams

A long-awaited dream came true when the College dedicated the new Steel Field Complex, which includes Rocco Calvo Field and the Timothy Breidegam ’78 Track.

This $3.1 million project is the first phase of Moravian’s Athletics Master Plan, approved in 2003 by the Board of Trustees.

The main field is named for legendary football coach Rocco Calvo, who was the College’s athletics director and football, basketball, and baseball coach from 1955 to 1992. It received a Sportexe artificial playing surface for football, lacrosse, and intramurals—the same surface used by the Baltimore Ravens, the New Orleans Saints, and many top-ranked collegiate teams.

The Breidegam Track, named for Timothy M. Breidegam ’78, also received a new resiliant surface: a natural rubber top layer manufactured and installed by Mondo, the Italian firm which has the exclusive contract for the Olympic games. It was also widened to become an eight-lane NCAA-competition-level track.

Members of the Calvo and Breidegam families participated in the dedication on September 3.

The project also involved structural repair to the 88-year-old grandstand at the complex, including replacement of its underlying structural steel, waterproofing its exterior, painting its interior, and repairing its ceiling, said supervising carpenter Mike Kichline during a walking tour of the renovated field.

Most of the project was carried out over the late spring and summer, and was made possible by an infusion of energy by project supervisor Kim Sherr and crews of cement contractors, turf installers, carpenters, and electricians.

Calvo personified Moravian College athletics. As coach and athletics director, he led dozens of championship teams, worked with hundreds of all-star athletes, and made a difference in the lives of thousands of Moravian College students.

According to Paul Moyer, athletics director since 2000, Moravian’s ongoing commitment to providing top-quality facilities for all students presented a special opportunity to recognize Calvo. “The tradition of excellence that defines Moravian College athletics was built by coaches like Rocco Calvo,” he said. “It is an honor for me to follow in his footsteps, and a special pleasure for me to make this announcement . . . because our alumni have wanted this for years.”

“Our entire Moravian College community, including our outstanding student-athletes, will benefit from the quality, distinction, and attractiveness of these improvements,” said President Ervin J. Rokke. “We are a community that has no doubt of its central mission of teaching and learning. At the same time, we enjoy a marvelous athletic tradition that complements academic excellence in a uniquely Moravian balance of mind, body, and spirit.”

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