BRADFORD, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will celebrate its new artificial turf field and all things Panther athletics on Saturday, Sept. 14.

            The event, dubbed PantherFest, will be preceded by a public dedication ceremony of Rathburn Family Field at noon Friday, Sept. 13, at the Kessel Athletic Complex on West Washington Street. A free tailgate lunch will follow.

            PantherFest will be a fun-filled full-day event with friendly contests to watch and take part in, information sessions, a homerun derby, men’s and women’s soccer games, and football watch party for the Pitt-West Virginia game also known as the “Backyard Brawl.”

            All day long at the Kessel Athletic Complex, food trucks and yard games will be available. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., a PantherFest Activities Zone will feature face painting with the Pitt-Bradford cheerleaders, a bounce house, games hosted by Panther students and a chance to win prizes. Food trucks will be CJ’s Bar-B-Que, The Good Place Food Trailer, Pizza Napoli of Bradford and Campers Kettle Corn.

            Parking at the field is limited, so visitors may park on the main part of campus and ride an Area Transportation Authority shuttle bus to the field.

            All activities happening Sept. 14 are free and open to the public. For those with a potential Panther, admissions will offer a chance to meet with an admissions counselor and tour campus. For events requiring registration, visit www.upbalumni.org/PantherFest.

            The PantherFest schedule is as follows:

            9 – 10:30 a.m. – Disc golf tournament using the university’s new disc golf course. Pre-registration is required. (See separate story on the new course.)

            10:30 a.m. – Saturday admissions visit begins in Harriett B. Wick Chapel on campus. Visit upb.pitt.edu/visit-campus to register.

            11 a.m. – Panthers’ softball and baseball intrasquad games

            11 a.m. – 1p.m. – Interactive pickleball learn-and-play session at the tennis courts

            11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – PantherFest Activities Zone

            Noon – Meet-and-learn session with the men’s lacrosse team. Members of Pitt-Bradford’s newest NCAA Division III team will demonstrate the sport.

            1 p.m. — Family Fun Run/Walk (pre-registration required)

            1:30 p.m. — Home Run Derby (pre-registration required)

            3 p.m. – Women’s soccer game vs. Thiel College

            3:30 p.m. – Pitt vs. West Virginia Game Watch at Rookies Sports Bar and Grill at 211 Main St., Bradford, and Tasta Pizza and Taproom at 508 E. Main St., Bradford.

            6 p.m. – Men’s soccer game vs. Houghton University

            Rathburn Family Field will be named in honor of alumnus Gary Rathburn ’68-’70 and his wife, Anita. Rathburn contributed $500,000 toward the $6.5 million field, which will be home to two Panther athletic teams – men’s and women’s lacrosse – and men’s and women’s soccer.

            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, North Africa, East Asia and Brazil.

            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.