Pruitt Field opened at Ohio's Athletics Mall in 2000 and serves as the home of the Bobcats' field hockey team. It is named in honor of Dr. Peggy Pruitt, a key figure in Ohio Athletics from 1975 to 2001.
Pruitt served as Ohio's head field hockey coach from 1975-77 and head tennis coach from 1975-82. She also served as the school's associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator from 1993 until her retirement in 2001. Always focused on providing the most positive experience possible for the Bobcat student-athlete, Pruitt played an integral role in the progressive growth of Ohio Athletics.
The project was started in the spring of 1999. It was done in two phases. The first phase, in 1999, installed the artificial turf field, running track, long jump pit, underground drainage system, and underground electrical conduits. The second phase in 2000 installed the field events venues across Shafer Street, grandstands/press box, storage building, well and main irrigation lines, fencing, landscaping, scoreboard, and sound system. The lighting was installed in 2006. The multi-purpose facility features a top-of-the-line artificial playing surface trimmed with a signature red brick grandstand that seats up to 1,000 spectators. The facility, which also encompasses Goldsberry Track, is home to Ohio's track and field teams as well.
The playing surface is made of Astroturf 2000 and features a gravel drainage layer, two layers of rubber granules, and a gravel mix beneath.
The Ohio women's field hockey team has seen great success at Pruitt Field in recent seasons. The Bobcats' first win at their new home came against Central Michigan University on October 6th, 8-0. The Bobcats compiled a home record of 15-3 over the course of the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
The program has gone on to win the MAC Championship in 2001, 2006, and 2007, while finishing as the runner-up in 2000, 2002, and 2003. In 2007, Pruitt Field was selected to host the NCAA Field Hockey Championship Tournament play-in match featuring Ohio and American University. A match that was won in double overtime by the Bobcats, 3-2. Pruitt Field lies on the west end of Ohio's campus near Bob Wren Stadium, the 3,000-seat baseball stadium built in 1998, and Ohio Softball Field, which opened in 1999. Just across the street lies the newly renovated Chessa Field, home to the Bobcat women's soccer team.
