Wilson Partners with Borough to Bring Baseball
On April 11, the Wilson College Athletics Department released exciting news. Wilson will be adding baseball among the sports the athletic program offers.
Since the addition of women’s volleyball in fall 2016, an additional men’s sport was needed in order to follow the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requirement. Title IX of NCAA requires that men and women have fair opportunities to participate in sports. However, Title IX does not require an athletic program to have identical sports but rather the equal opportunity for men and women to play.
Wilson is currently searching for someone to serve as head baseball coach, which will allow the athletics department to recruit players during the 2017-2018 season. Competition will begin in the 2018-2019 season. As part of the North Eastern Athletic Conference, the baseball team will be given a regular season schedule as well as an opportunity for postseason play.
The Borough of Chambersburg partnered with the college to grant use of Henninger Field for practice and competition. The lease for the field was officially authorized on April 9.
Henninger Field is a historic ballpark that opened in 1895. Originally known as “Wolf Park,” Henninger Field changed its name in 1920 honoring Clay Henninger, creator of the Chambersburg Maroons baseball team. Henninger was a very influential person of baseball in the Franklin County Area.,p>
The Maroons played at Henninger Field up until 2010. The American Legion Post 46 and Chambersburg Trojans baseball teams also made use of the facility until they moved to Greene Township Park field, located in Scotland, PA. Henninger field has had minimal use over the past few years, except for serving as the home field for Cumberland Valley Christian School.
Wilson hopes to bring life back into Henninger Field. The field will see improvements over the next year in order to meet NCAA regulations. In addition, Wilson and the Borough of Chambersburg will work together, making sure the revitalization are up to standard.
Baseball is a very popular sport in Franklin County. It will be exciting to see how baseball comes to life for Wilson College, as well as bringing back active use to Henninger Field.