Karl Van Norman Field

Karl Van Norman Field has served as the home of Mansfield football since 1964 and became the new home of Mountaineer field hockey in 2013. Van Norman Field also serves as an alternate playing surface for the women's soccer program.

Considered one of the most scenic fields in Pennsylvania collegiate athletics, Van Norman is nestled below Decker Gymnasium on the Mansfield University campus just off Route 6.

The home south-side stands provide 2,000 permanent seats with overflow crowds spreading out on the grassy hill above the stands. The visitor’s north side stands provide permanent seating for 1,000 fans.

Van Norman Field was upgraded in the summer of 2013 to include a state-of-the-art AstroTurf field complete with football, field hockey and soccer lines to replace the natural grass surface. The facility upgrade also included the addition of four lighting towers which gives Mansfield the ability to host nighttime sporting events.

With the upgrade to an AstroTurf surface, Van Norman Field became the new home to the Mountaineer field hockey program who previously played and practiced on the natural grass surface of Spaulding Field across campus. Van Norman Field also serves as an alternate field for the Mansfield women's soccer program when its natural grass field is unplayable due to poor weather conditions.

Mountaineer field hockey played the first official game on the new Van Norman Field AstroTurf against No. 2 Shippensburg on Saturday, Sept. 14 in front of an NCAA regular season record crowd of 2,011 fans. The crowd was the largest in NCAA Division II field hockey history and the third largest to ever watch an NCAA Division I, II, or III field hockey contest.

The Mansfield sprint football team hosted the first official night game at Van Norman Field on Sept. 14 with a 24-14 win over Princeton University in front of a record crowd of 6,223 people. The game marked the first night football game in Mansfield in 121 years. Mansfield is recognized by the NFL and College Football Halls of Fame as hosting the world’s first night football game on Sept. 28, 1892 at Smythe Park.
Mountaineer women's soccer hosted the program's first night contest at Van Norman Field on Oct. 9 with a 3-1 victory over Goldey-Beacom College.

The complex is named in honor of Karl Van Norman who was an integral part of the Mountaineer football program for more than 50 years. The son of a professor at Mansfield State Normal School, Van Norman became a star player for the Mountaineers at quarterback during the 1904, 1905 and 1906 seasons. He is credited with throwing the first forward pass in school history to Ellwood “Doc” Fenton in 1906. Fenton went on to fame at the quarterback at LSU and is a member of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. Van Norman served as an assistant from 1916 through the 1950s and is credited with saving the program and its history.

Also included in the Van Norman complex is Maxson Track, home to the Mountaineer track & field teams. Maxson Track went through a complete renovation in the summer of 2012 with full resurfacing of the facility and the expansion from a six lane track to an eight lane track.

Maxson Track is named for Robert T. Maxson who passed away suddenly in December of 1975 at the age of 45. Soon after his death, the college’s council of trustees voted to name the track in his honor.

Maxson, a 1952 graduate of Mansfield, joined the faculty of his alma mater as an associate professor in the health and physical education department in 1967. A year later, Maxson instituted track & field as a sport at Mansfield. Maxson served as the track & field and cross country coach and was an assistant basketball coach under Ed Wilson.