The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will name its new artificial turf field Rathburn Family Field in honor of a $500,000 gift made by Gary Rathburn ’68-’70 and his wife, Anita.

            A ceremony to commemorate the naming of the new home for Panthers’ soccer and lacrosse teams will take place at noon Sept. 13 at the field. A tailgate lunch will follow, and the public is invited.

            This is Rathburn’s first major gift to Pitt-Bradford, and it is one of the largest ever made by an alumnus. At the Pittsburgh campus, he and his wife, Anita, support the Pitt football program and sponsor an annual undergraduate international research award for political science students.

            “I think that athletics are a good way for young people to release stress, and this seemed like a good way to contribute – to help form the brains of students at Pitt-Bradford through sports,” said Rathburn, who played a bit of soccer himself when a student before he was sidelined by injury.

            “Pitt set the stage for my success,” he said of his time at both Pitt-Bradford and the Pittsburgh campus. At the time Rathburn attended Pitt-Bradford, students attended for two years before finishing a bachelor’s degree at another campus, usually at Pitt’s campus in Pittsburgh.

            Rathburn had a successful career exporting coal that took him to places he had studied as a political science student on both campuses, including Western Europe, northern Africa, East Asia and Brazil.

            “We are so grateful that Gary has chosen this way to support a new generation of students as they learn important lessons on the field,” said Rick Esch, president of Pitt-Bradford. “This project also plays an important role in meeting our enrollment goals and will help keep Pitt-Bradford strong so that we can continue to provide a personalized Pitt education for students who want and need that.”

            The $6.5 million field has been a game changer already. As early as February, the university’s softball, baseball, soccer and men’s lacrosse teams were practicing outdoors, something that was impossible on muddy natural grass fields in previous years.

            The field has also made possible the university’s newest sport, lacrosse, which will begin NCAA Division III men’s play in Spring 2025, with a women’s team to follow in Spring 2026.

            In addition to artificial turf, the project included stadium lights to expand the hours the field can be used, meaning that schedules no longer are subject to sunrise and sunset. In time, the university plans to add a two-story building with a press box on the second floor, public restrooms, concessions and dining area.

            A public PantherFest celebration of the addition of Rathburn Family Field to the Kessel Athletic Complex and all things Panther Athletics will take place all day Sept. 14, the day following the formal dedication.

            Plans for the day include a tournament on Pitt-Bradford’s new disc golf course, softball and baseball intrasquad games, a pickleball learn and play session, PantherFest Activities zone, meet and learn session with the men’s lacrosse team, family fun run and walk, home run derby and women’s and men’s soccer games. For details, visit upb.pitt.edu/pantherfest.