On Friday, Oct. 10, members of the Saint Anselm College community gathered to break ground on the Van Hoof Athletic Complex.
The facility will include an eight-lane track, a synthetic turf soccer field, sophisticated LED lighting, spectator seating, and a multipurpose building with locker rooms. Design and planning for the facility, which may be completed in phases, is underway. The Van Hoof Athletic Complex will be home to the Hawks men’s and women’s track & field program, and men’s and women’s soccer teams, as well as a wide array of other college programming.
The track & field programs participate in both the indoor and outdoor seasons within the Northeast 10 Conference. The Hawks soccer teams play NE10 seasons in the fall and exhibition games in the spring.
Trustee Jim Van Hoof ’85 and Tracey Van Hoof ’87 made the lead gift for the complex in honor of his parents, Carol and James Van Hoof.
“Tracey and I want it to stand as a testament to all the parents who make the enormous sacrifices necessary for athletes to compete at this level,” Jim Van Hoof said. “No student athlete arrives at Saint Anselm without hundreds of hours of carpools, cleats, sideline cheering, and unyielding encouragement. This complex will be a tribute to all of the parents who provide that.”
Van Hoof also announced that a substantial portion of their commitment is being made as a challenge gift that when successfully matched will allow for the soccer field to be named for legendary men’s soccer coach Ed Cannon, “a man who positively impacted, not just me, but hundreds of athletes during his long coaching and leadership career at Saint Anselm. Someone whose coaching excellence, dedication to young athletes, humility, and character embody the Benedictine values we all hold dear.”
Saint Anselm President Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D., thanked the Van Hoof family for their generous lead commitment and also thanked the athletes who have waited for this moment while the College worked its way through the regulatory process with the communities of Bedford, Goffstown, and Manchester.
“The athletes are here, and they are anxious and deserving of the beautiful complex we are creating,” President Favazza said. “The addition of track & field to our varsity sports programs has been talked about for years. It was a strategic decision by the College leadership and Trustees that has yielded an extraordinary number of participants, quickly exceeding our recruitment and enrollment expectations.”
In addition to Coach Cannon, longtime cross country coaches Professor Paul Finn and Professor Emeriti Dennis Sweetland were in attendance at the groundbreaking.
Following an extensive search in 2022, Peter Early was selected as the first Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Saint Anselm College. An experienced coach at the NCAA Division II level, Early arrived at Saint Anselm from Assumption University where he led the men's and women's cross country and track & field programs.
Brian Stankiewicz '17, the longtime Head Coach of the men's and women's cross country programs, was named Assistant Coach for track & field when the program was launched in 2023.
Now in the program’s third season, Saint Anselm has 141 track & field athletes, with 32% cross-over with cross country.
“A special word of thanks to Peter Early, whose strategic vision and tireless recruiting have helped shape the success and growth of our soccer and track & field programs,” said Athletic Director Phil Rowe. “And I’d also like to recognize our outstanding coaches — Bruno Victal (men’s soccer) and Lee Moyce (women’s soccer) — who have built our soccer programs to represent the very best of Saint Anselm: teamwork, integrity, and excellence both on and off the field.”
The men’s soccer program has 35 members and the women’s program has 37.
News of the Van Hoof Athletic Complex is the latest development on the Hilltop this year. In September, the College opened the doors to Grappone Hall, the $35M home of the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences.
The two-year Campaign for the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences is the largest project-based campaign in the history of Saint Anselm. Through its ambitious $40M goal, the campaign is directing $32M toward the construction of Grappone Hall and $8M for scholarships and programs.
Saint Anselm has seen enrollment growth over the last four years, increasing each year since the post-Covid class, with this year’s first-year class setting a record with 647 students. Steve Goetsch, vice president of enrollment, shared that Saint Anselm also boasts a retention rate of 90% and four-year graduation rate of 84%.
The 18-month campaign goal for the Van Hoof Athletic Complex is $2.5M, with $1.5M raised to date. For more information, please contact Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer Jim Flanagan at jflanagan@anselm.edu.