October 22, 2016
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium (Capacity: 11,000)
Brockport, NY
Brockport Golden Eagles vs Cortland Red Dragons
Final Score: 21 – 19
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My first visit to a Division III stadium came at a place just 25 minutes from where I grew up. A lowering of the capacity standards on The List put this facility on it and I spent a cold, windy afternoon at the College at Brockport for some football. The school is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and it has had many long and non-memorable names before settling on the College at Brockport. It is a four-year school with around 8,000 students and the football team began play in 1947. They’ve made the NCAA playoffs four times, all coming in a stretch between 2000 and 2003. Their deepest advancement was in 2002 as they made a trip to the Quarterfinals. In 1979, a huge event came to Brockport as they hosted the Special Olympics. An 11,000-seat stadium was built for the games and it is still used today for various sports at the college.
Prestige Ranking: 1 out of 5
Location
Brockport is a small village of 8,800 along the Erie Canal in Western New York. They make nice use of the water as a pleasant Main Street is just past the bridge over the Canal and there are several local shops to go along with about ten decent places to eat. The village is part of suburban Rochester and it is about 25 minutes from the city.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Though it is a little outside of primary highway access in the Rochester area, it is still very easy to reach the village thanks to straight-forward roads like Route 104 and Route 19. Campus is just a mile from the center of Brockport and the stadium can be found along the south side of the grounds. A pair of large parking lots are on the sides of an athletic building with the football stadium behind that and it’s a little further of a walk than one would expect for a D3 stadium. Also, there are no signs to indicate these lots are where fans should park. As for traffic, it’s typically non-existent, the exception being if everyone leaves at the same time as the access roads are just two lanes.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7 out of 8
Exterior
I wouldn’t really call this an “Exterior” as the outside is nothing but the inner support of each sideline bleacher.
Exterior Ranking: 0.5 out of 10
Concourse and Food
There is plenty of open area on the ground around the stadium and the main gathering area near the northwest corner includes a merchandise tent and a few tables selling food, along with a trailer that has several food options. Pizza, Burgers, Hot Dogs and Sausage are the main items, while other snacks can be found too. Tater tots are a popular treat for the college kids. Be aware that the line gets very long at halftime and they can run out of stuff. Bathrooms are limited at the stadium and the only protection from the elements are in the building with bathrooms on the visitor’s side. Behind the home side is a temporary restroom trailer that is not nearly enough for any sporting crowd.
Concourse Ranking: 0.5 out of 5
Food Ranking: 2.5 out of 8
Interior
Metal bleachers make up the seating on each sideline and the bulk of the capacity is on the west/home side. These certainly resemble high school set-ups, but they can hold a lot of people and that is evident by a walkway about two-thirds up, which gives an upper/lower feel to it. A two-story press box is centered at the top and flags alternating between green and yellow fly along each side from the press box. The field of play is quite far from the stands, due not only to a track, but also a wide walkway between the track and first seats.
Interior Ranking: 2 out of 14
Scoreboard
In the end zone corner angled towards the home fans is an adequate scoreboard based in green. The top of the board says “Golden Eagles” with a “B” logo at the center. There are a couple of ads and in between, it took me a little while to realize that there was a digital screen. These graphics gave a little life to the board.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
Other than a sign for the stadium behind the end zone and a trailer painted with the school’s wordmark and logo, there was nothing I would term as a display. However, it should be noted that there are two remarkable statues located outside of the stadium, not far from the parking lot. In recognition of the Special Olympics and while working on improving U.S. relations, a Soviet artist created two masterful pieces and presented them to Brockport. These towering sculptures are titled “Prometheus” and “Joy and Happiness to All the Children of the World”, the latter featuring five pillars. The pieces are impressive and it is all with a happy backdrop. Be sure to check them out.
Displays Ranking: 1.5 out of 6
Cost
Free parking and $5 tickets are a great deal. The concessions are quite inexpensive too as a hot dog was $3, a cheeseburger $3.50 and a bottled soda just $1.50.
Cost Ranking: 8 out of 8
Fan Support and Atmosphere
Brockport had an announced attendance of 2,592 that looked true. Not bad considering the conditions. Fan support is decent as the team averages a good crowd for this level of football. Many of the fans attending the game I saw had green and gold apparel on, making for a colorful stand. Their cheering was average and it was good to hear a few “Let’s Go Brockport” chants as the game got good at the end. Stomping of the bleachers became popular too. The biggest crowd of the year comes not at Homecoming, but for the Courage Bowl, a terrific annual match-up against St. John Fisher College. The game benefits Camp Good Days, a place created to help provide special memories for children with cancer. Each school hosts in alternating years and this season, Brockport had over 8,000 on-hand for an event that is more than football.
Fan Support Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Atmosphere Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
The Special Olympics is a wonderful event and it is amazing that a place as small as Brockport hosted. The stadium recently had a name change in 2010 to honor the woman who founded the Special Olympics and was instrumental in bringing it to Brockport, Eunice Kennedy Shriver…..The Field is named in honor of Bob Boozer, the school’s first head coach…..The Golden Eagles typically compete in the SUNYAC conference, however for football, they are a relatively new member of the Empire 8…..At halftime of this game, the 2016 Hall of Fame class was honored and I was pleasantly surprised to hear the name John Morgan, a standout baseball player who went to the same high school as myself, graduating one year after me. Go Hilton……The wind was indeed brutal, with gusts to 40 MPH. Thankfully, the home stands offered some protection, but I don’t know how some of those Cortland fans sat there and took it in their face all game instead of switching sides.
Game
This was a game that Brockport dominated statistically, however their four turnovers compared to Cortland’s zero meant that the score stayed close. The Golden Eagles went into the second half with a 14-13 lead and they extended that with a ridiculous highlight catch by Nate Wilkinson, who went horizontal with a diving 46-yard reception in the end zone. Cortland’s offense was shut down in the second half until it mattered. They marched 80 yards in 7 plays to score and make it 21-19 with 2:37 left. However, Brockport made the stop on the two-point conversion and they hung on for the win. The Golden Eagles had the ball for nearly 40 minutes and their 520 yards of total offense comprised of 310 on the ground. QB Joe Germiniero had 202 of those yards.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
