Lycoming College to dedicate David Person Field at Girardi Stadium in 2023

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa., Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- They say Yankee Stadium is "The house that Ruth built." If that's the case, there's no doubt that the stadium that encapsulates David Person Field inside the Robert L. Shangraw Athletic Complex is certainly the house that Frank Girardi built. Now that stadium will bear his name, as Girardi Stadium will officially be dedicated at the 2023 Lycoming College football team's home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9, as the College's Board of Trustees approved the naming of the stadium during its meeting on Sunday, Oct. 16.

The Board of Trustees, chaired by D. Mark Fultz '80, released an official proclamation honoring the 2016 inductee into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame and announcing the naming of the College's football stadium in Coach Girardi's honor, which until now had not had a name attached to it.

Over the course of the 36 years as the head football coach, Girardi cobbled together one of the finest resumes in the history of the game. He won 257 games, which still ranks 24th all-time in NCAA history and 10th in Division III annals. He helped Lycoming win 13 Middle Atlantic Conference titles and make 11 appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

"I am personally honored to recognize Coach Girardi by announcing that the football stadium will now bear his name," Lycoming College President Kent Trachte said. "Frank's records as football coach place him among a small elite group of college coaches, and his accomplishments as athletics director were instrumental in growing our athletic program. His greatest legacies, however, are his commitment to excellence and his impact upon the lives of countless student athletes. For four decades, he sustained Lycoming's culture of excellence and changed lives."

The hallmarks of Girardi's teams seemed to always be the defense, which led Division III in total defense twice (1975, '83), rushing defense three times (1976, '82, '87) and scoring defense once (1999) during his career. By the mid-'80s, though, his offenses had the firepower to match the defense, leading the MAC in total offense for the first time in 1984 (178.5) and four more times in his career.

More information is available at: https://www.lycoming.edu/news/stories/2022/10/girardi-stadium.aspx

A gallery of photos is available at:
https://lyco.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000R4ciy60tWZw/G0000VGB1VkNjBFc/Frank-Girardi-Photos
Password: GirardiAnnouncement

Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is one of the nation's oldest and most respected liberal arts colleges. Today, our community of 1,200 active learners from 31 states and territories and 15 countries comprises a student body that is 35 percent domestic students of color or international, all of whom work with our renowned scholars to craft customized combinations of market-driven majors, minors and concentrations across our 40+ academic programs. Students compete in 19 NCAA Division III sports, participate in faculty-driven research, thrive in a robust program of internship experiences, and study abroad in more than two dozen countries. Lycoming College has one of the highest endowment-per-student ratios in the country. The institution is a member of the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges and is recognized by The Princeton Review as one of The 388 Best Colleges. Lycoming College is dedicated to providing a high-quality liberal arts and sciences education for all students. Learn more at https://www.lycoming.edu.

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SOURCE Lycoming College