Now in its 102nd season, Susquehanna football ushers in a new era on Saturday, Sept. 23, when the Crusaders host Dickinson in the first game at Nicholas A. Lopardo Stadium.
The stadium was built on the site of the former baseball field, which was relocated last year to another part of campus, and is near the former football field, which was the site of Crusader home games for more than 100 years. The playing surface itself of Lopardo Stadium has retained the name of Amos Alonzo Stagg Field.
The new stadium provides seating capacity for 3,500 spectators, an eight-lane, quarter-mile track, a concession stand and bookstore annex, and a press box. It is named for Nick Lopardo, a 1968 graduate of Susquehanna and a member of the University's board of directors since 1992.
A former standout football and baseball player for the Crusaders, Lopardo was inducted into SU's Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and was named a member of the Top 100 of 100 Football Team last year.