HEALTH & SPORTS CENTER
Recognized nationally as one of the best venues to watch Division II athletics, the Health & Sports Center offers the campus, community and region a variety of sports opportunities.. Containing nearly 400,000 square feet of space, the Health & Sports Center offers first class opportunities for individuals as well as team growth and competition.
Packed with a multitude of health & sports options, the Center integrates all features expected in a comprehensive facility. An athletic weight training room holds state-of-the-art equipment. Athletic training and sports medicine and rehabilitation rooms on the lower level. A spacious wrestling room is on the same lower level as well. Administrative and coaching offices for the athletic department are predominately located in the Health & Sports Center west concourse upper level.
With a capacity seating of 6,000 The Health & Sports Center is the largest sport specific facility west of Lincoln in the state of Nebraska and is the largest athletic arena in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. More than 400 seats are dedicated to seating for students during Loper events with the remaining seats distributed among reserved and general admission season ticket holders.
The Health & Sports Center is located in the heart of the UNK campus and is a crossroads for academic buildings connecting east and west campus. Adjacent to the Center is the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Within these confines, students enjoy access to Cushing Coliseum, a student weight room, aquatic center, racquetball courts and much more.
The Health and Sports Center historically has served as a host venue for several NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships including the 2005 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships, 1995 & 2007 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships the 2007 & 2008 NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight. In 2000, President Bill Clinton visited the arena and addressed a capacity crowd of 6,100 over the topic of public education and the value it has within our country. In 2004, the late NCAA president Myles Brand visited the facility and quoted, “This University is a poster child for doing things right at the Division II level; its facilities are second to none among its peers.”
In 1911, athletes built the first gymnasium which was the universities first indoor facility. “The Barn”, as it became lovingly called was a wooden building, 60 x 80 ft, with a dirt basketball court, a practice baseball field, and a 75 yard cinder track. During basketball season, truck loads of hay bales were brought in for seating. The Barn was torn down in 1916 when the college began construction of a new gymnasium (now Copeland Hall). However, progress was halted with the start of World War I and was not finished until late 1918. The first color housed calisthenics, a swimming pool and locker rooms while the gymnasium was on located on the 2nd floor.
Today, the Health & Sports Center is home to UNK Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Volleyball and Wrestling. Throughout the year, many other regional events take place in the facility including Mister & Misses Basketball, Nebraska School Activities Association Events, University Commencement, concerts, various youth camps and many more events.
It is no secret that the Lopers play well at home, winning an astonishing 86% of games played in the facility.
A Winning Tradition at Home
Volleyball: 265-31 (89%)
Women’s Basketball: 224-38 (85%) Including a Division II record 87 game home win streak from 1995-2001).
Men’s Basketball 224-38 (85%)
RON & CAROL COPE STADIUM AT FOSTER FIELD
Recognized as one of the most historic fields in athletic history, Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field has withstood the test of time and taken on a new and improved look. Located on the North side of campus, just west of the Nebraskan Student Union, Cope Stadium at Foster Field enjoys a location that is accessible to community and students alike.
It has been home to the Loper football team since 1939; the track & field team used a since-removed outdoor track for several decades. The stadium was named Foster Field to honor former track and football coach Charlie Foster. Ron & Carol Cope, well known in the Kearney community for their philanthropy work, were added to the marquee in 2005 due to their contributions to the new facility.
In recent years, the field and stadium complex has been the focus of major renovations with more than 8 million in improvements completed.
Construction projects at the stadium have touched on improvements for fans as well as players in all areas:
· New state-of-the-art field turf (275’ x 400’) added in August of 2004.
· 3 story stadium upgrades including 7 press/media suites, hospitality room (90 cap.), full game viewing deck, ticket booth, two concession stands, elevator, 4 bathroom sets, and 4 stadium entrances.
· The installation of an additional 1,500 seats.
· A new north end zone facility with home and away locker rooms, meeting rooms, training facilities, concession stand, official’s quarters, and equipment storage.
· Inner fencing structure to separate field from fans
· New state of the art LED message center (13’x 17’6”/80x112 Led Daktronics Prostar)
· State-of-the-art sound & lighting.
The University of Nebraska Kearney played its first game on the renovated field on Saturday, September 3, 2004 vs. Wayne State College in front of a crowd of 3,804 people. The second phase was completed the following year and included the addition of the press box and north endzone building. A crowd of 8,823 fans packed into the facility to watch the Lopers take on the Mavericks of UNO. Today, Foster Field is home for the UNK Football and Soccer teams as well as the Kearney High Bearcats. Other athletic teams benefit from it’s surface as a practice facility during off seasons and winter months as well.
2009 marks the first year that women’s soccer will be played at Nebraska Kearney. The season opener drew 3, 227 fans to Foster Field which was an NCAA Division II regular season attendance record. The previous record at a Division II game was 2,004.
Tremendous thanks go out to these individuals and groups who so graciously have contributed to the Cope Stadium at Foster Field project. Your legacy will forever be experienced by student-athletes and fans.
Ron & Carol Cope
Dr. BM and Beverly Stevenson
Kearney Public Schools
Peter Kiewit Foundation
Faye Reynolds Estate
Brown Transfer Company
FirsTier Bank/Joel Wiens
Bill and Mary Ann Beavers
Kearney Clinic
Sahling Kenworth
TierOne Charitable Foundation
Brad R. Kernick
Barry Sherman
Kearney Hub
Pete and Jane Kotsiopulos
Judith J. Spohr
Larry and Kay Edwards
J. Scott and Teri Nelson
Jon and Leslie Abegglen
Wayne and Kathy Gappa
Sam M Fehrenz Estate
John and Sonia Sahling
Cash-Wa Distributing Company
Midway Chevrolet Buick Cadillac
Lopers at Foster Field
Seasons: 71
Record: 233-95-5
Most Consecutive Winning Seasons: 12 (1997- current)
Most Games Played in a Season: 7 (1988)
Most Wins in a Season: 5
Most Losses in a Season: 5 (1993)
Most Consecutive Wins: 25 (1954-59)
Undefeated Seasons: 16
Most Points by UNK: 88 (vs. Nebraska Central, 1914)
Most Points by an Opponent: 71 (vs. Central Missouri State, 1960)
Milestone Wins
1st: vs. Bethany (1939, 7-0)
50th: vs. Chadron State (1956, 44-7)
100th: vs. Fort Hays State (1970, 30-21)
150th: vs. Pittsburg State (1982, 13-0)
175th: vs. Minnesota State- Moorhead (1989, 24-22)
200th: vs. Mesa State (1999, 44-20)
225th: vs. Adams State (2007, 31-7)
Chronology of Momentous Games
1941 Game Vs. Wayne State (Win 28-0 to finish 8-0 season)
1956 Game vs. Nebraska Wesleyan (Win 35-12 to finish a 9-0 season)
1958 Game vs. Concordia (Win 71-3 to finish a 9-0 season)
1963 NAIA Playoff Game vs. Prairie View A & M
1990 Game Vs. South Dakota State (Lopers first home game as a Division II member)
1996 Game Vs. Colorado Mines (Lopers first RMAC home game)
2000 Game Vs. Western State (Loper QB Justin Coleman becomes D2 All-Time Passing Leader)
2002 NCAA Division II Playoff Game vs. Texas A&M Kingsville
2005 NCAA Division II Playoff Game vs. Pittsburg State
2007 Game Vs. Chadron State (Televised nationally by College Sports Television)
UNK enters its 71st season of football at Ron and Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field this fall with an overall home record of 233-95-5 (71%)