Bart Kaufman Field

Bart Kaufman Field is a baseball field in Bloomington, Indiana. It is home of the Indiana Hoosiers baseball team. The capacity of the facility is 2,500 spectators. It is named after Bart Kaufman, an alumnus who played in 1960-61-62. In 1961 he was the second-leading hitter (.452) in the Big Ten to longtime Detroit Tigers player Bill Freehan of the University of Michigan. Kaufman pledged $2.5 million to get the project going. Many teammates contributed to name the Indiana dugout after longtime baseball coach Ernie Andres. Much of the cost, reported to be in excess of $19 million including Andy Mohr Field for softball, was funded by proceeds from the Big Ten Network.The stadium hosted an NCAA Regional in its first two years of existence; it marked the first two times the IU baseball program has played tournament games on campus. Bart Kaufman Field hosted its first Big Ten Baseball Tournament from May 24–28, 2017.HistoryOn August 19, 2011, the Indiana University Board of Trustees approved plans for a new baseball–softball complex. These new fields would be located just north of Assembly Hall, near the intersection of the 45/46 bypass and Fee Lane. The new baseball field would replace Sembower Field, which had been the Hoosiers' home field since 1951. On February 15, 2012, Indiana University announced that the new baseball field would be named after Bart Kaufman, CEO of the Indianapolis-based Kaufman Financial Corporation, and an Indiana baseball alumnus. This announcement came after Kaufman pledged $2.5 million to the construction of a new stadium.