Messiah University Athletics: a mission-driven tradition

For more than a century, Messiah University has sustained its commitment to its unique faith-based educational mission, promise of academic excellence, dedication to outstanding teaching and student learning, and fostering a strong and supportive campus community. At Messiah, we believe athletics are a vibrant aspect of that community, and we have a proven tradition of outstanding athletic programs that develop students' academic, personal, and spiritual growth.

Whether an athlete or a fan, Messiah Athletics serves as a central and exciting aspect of the student experience and provide a shared sense of school spirit. Students and alumni, regardless of their major or graduation year, gather in community to watch our teams and athletes compete and to cheer on our Messiah Falcons.

We need to provide a warmer welcome for our fans and guests

Exceptional hospitality is at the heart of what we do at Messiah University—and we believe that hospitality should extend to our fans and visitors during athletic events.

Concession and comfort challenges:

While we have upgraded the fields and facilities at our Starry Athletic Complex through the years, our concession and comfort facilities have not been renovated since the 1980s. Currently, the only permanent hospitality facility we have there to serve all of our teams, fans and visitors is the Falcon Hut, a small and outdated building, ill-equipped to support the significant growth of our current athletics program. The lack of proper concession areas and restrooms for fans combined with the lack of locker room/changing facilities for home and visiting athletes falls short of the true spirit of what Messiah University and Messiah Athletics represent. 

At sporting events alone, we have up to 5,000 spectators on campus. And as any frequent Falcons fan could attest, the Falcon Hut is simply not large enough to accommodate such large crowds, creating significant lines, delays, and wait times for both concessions and restroom use. Additionally, our annual May Commencement for our undergraduates is held at Shoemaker field—an event that also brings 5,000+ guests to campus and creates similar issues. Our limited facilities also have a negative impact on recruiting students to attend Messiah. Each summer hundreds of high school students and their families participate in our summer sports camps. These students are also attending camps at other colleges and universities who have a much higher level of outdoor facilities than we do at Messiah. This “first-impression gap” can play a significant role in a student’s ultimate decision in choosing which school to attend.

While the University brings in portable restrooms to use at some of these peak-use times, these temporary facilities are expensive to rent and do not provide the type of experience guests could expect at an outdoor complex serving a national powerhouse in Division III Athletics.

Fan seating and dugout limitations:

We are additionally lacking proper seating for our lacrosse and softball fans, both in seating capacity and in obstructed/limited views of the fields of play.  And while we addressed similar seating challenges for Messiah baseball fans several years ago,  the baseball dugouts for our home Falcons and visiting teams are too small, currently accommodating only a handful of players inside the dugouts at the same time.