DeLand, Fla. - Before Stetson University had intercollegiate sports for women, Patricia Maxcy Wilson '47 played nearly every intramural sport she could. Years later, Wilson became a champion of Stetson's Division I athletics program as a member of the Board of Trustees.
In honor of her longtime support and advocacy of the university's athletics program, Stetson has officially named its award-winning softball complex “Patricia Wilson Field.” Wilson was honored Sept. 18 during a dedication ceremony at the complex on campus.
“Patricia Wilson has been one of the most significant supporters of Stetson athletics in our history,” said President Doug Lee. “She was a strong advocate during her years of service as a trustee, and a driving force in our commitment to achieve gender equity. Out of deep respect and gratitude, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name the Women's Fastpitch Softball Field in her honor.”
Trustee Emeritus Patricia Wilson and her husband Pat, also a Stetson alumnus, live in Lake Wales, where they own and operate a family business in citrus, cattle ranching, banking and development. The couple has for many years financially supported women's athletics scholarships, the baseball program and capital projects including the Wilson Athletic Center and Maxcy Hall at Stetson.
Patricia Wilson served on the university's Board of Trustees in the 1980s and 1990s. She was a key player in the development of Stetson's athletics program as a positive activity for students and to promote the university in Florida and beyond, said Director of Athletics Jeff Altier.
The $1.9 million softball complex named in her honor was constructed as part of Stetson's commitment to gender equity in athletics, Altier said. The complex has been named National Field of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association twice.
The first game was played on the field in February 2003. Stetson added an enclosed press box/concession and ticket booth and chairback seating in 2007. The final phase of construction was completed this year ? a new training center with a team locker room, staff offices, training room, umpire dressing rooms and multipurpose room. Before 2003, the softball team played home games at an off-campus municipal field.
“For more than a decade, Stetson athletics has consistently demonstrated its commitment to Title IX, the federal law that requires equality for women and men in athletics,” Altier said. “The completion of the training center at Patricia Wilson Field is the capstone of the university's facilities commitment dedicated exclusively for women.”
Progress for athletics ? particularly women athletes ? has been remarkable since the 1940s, said Patricia Wilson, who earned a degree in business with a minor in physical education. There were very few men students at Stetson until her senior year because of World War II, and almost all students played intramural sports for fun and exercise.
At the dedication, Wilson said she is honored by the softball complex naming. “In my 80-plus years of life, the years I spent at Stetson University rank near the top of memories I most cherish,” she said. “In fact, it was at Stetson where I met Pat, my husband of 60 years. So having the distinction and honor of having my name bestowed on the softball field is of special significance to me.”
