Bishop Schmitt Field

Broke Ground September 9, 2013
Dedicated October 17, 2014

Located at the heart of the Wheeling University campus, Bishop Schmitt Field is the home of the Cardinal football, soccer, lacrosse and rugby programs.

The facility features a high-performance Springturf surface completed in the spring of 2014 as part of the Homefield Advantage Campaign. In addition to the new field, the facility also features stadium seating, locker rooms, an 8-lane running track, lighting for evening practices and competition, a multi-media press box with wireless internet access, a new state-of-the-art sound system, and a Daktronics scoreboard and timing system. The field’s picturesque, natural setting in the center of our residential campus creates an ideal atmosphere for NCAA Division II athletic competitions.

The field is named for the late Bishop Bernard W. Schmitt, the seventh bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. He served as bishop for more than 15 years from 1989 to 2004. Bishop Schmitt was an avid sports fan and former athlete that believed strongly in the role sports could play in the physical, social and spiritual development of well rounded young men and women

The first athletic contest to take place on the field was a Wheeling University women's lacrosse match on March 11, 2014. Wheeling Central Catholic High School played the first football game on Bishop Schmitt Field on August 28, 2015. Wheeling University played the first-ever college football game on the field on September 8, 2018 against Hocking College.