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VIDEO: Wellesley Athletics Facilities Tour
Bethany Ellis gives a brief tour of the athletics facilities at Wellesley College, including the Keohane Sports Center, Butler Boathouse, and outdoor fields.
Keohane Sports Center
Nannerl O. Keohane Sports Center, named for Nannerl Keohane '61 (Wellesley president, 1981-1993), is the focal point for recreation and fitness at Wellesley College. The Sports Center is home to 13 varsity athletics teams, a diverse physical education curriculum, and a wide variety of recreational, intramural, and wellness activities for the entire College community.
Fitness Center
The Fitness Center, located on the second floor of the Sports Center overlooking the Fieldhouse, is equipped with treadmills, ellipticals, free weights, cable system, and stability equipment. The Fitness Center has qualified student staff monitoring the space to help answer any questions. It is available to the College community from the time the building opens until an hour before closing every day.
Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse
Renovated in 2015, Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse features a hardwood floor for basketball and volleyball competitions, arena seating for 500, three indoor tennis courts, a spin room, a climbing wall, a four-lane 200-meter track, a high jump area, and a new long and triple jump pit, and a spinning room that includes state-of-the art spinning bikes, a flat screen TV and a sound system.
Chandler Pool - Closed for Renovations
Chandler Pool is one of the finest swimming and diving facilities in New England, with an eight-lane competition pool and a one- and three-meter diving well. Home to the Wellesley varsity swimming and diving team, Chandler Pool also hosts a range of swimming programs for the local community, is the practice site for the Wellesley College Water Polo Club, and is open to students, faculty, and staff during recreational swim hours.
Butler Boathouse
Thanks to the generosity of Alice Lehmann Butler ’53 and her husband, John, the boathouse on Lake Waban was renovated in 2015 to update and upgrade a facility used by Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics (PERA). Alice Butler was an avid member of her dorm crew, and she and her husband are lifelong fitness enthusiasts. Their gift fully enabled a much-needed renovation to the structure, increasing campus-wide recreational opportunities and supporting other PERA initiatives as well.
Butler Stadium
Butler Stadium was renovated in 2019 and renamed Butler Stadium in honor of John and Alice Lehman Butler '53 and the generosity of Chris and Suzanne Sandman Pasko '90 P'23 and the Martore Family Class of '73 and '10. The renovation included: lights, a new track, playing surface, and upgrades to the spectator seating area.
Softball Field
An award-winning softball diamond completes Wellesley's outdoor fields complex. The 2010 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Field of the Year, Wellesley's softball field was selected to host NCAA Division III Tournament Regional play in both 2010 and 2014.
Soccer Field
Wellesley's varsity soccer team competes on a meticulously maintained natural grass field. In addition, the outdoor fields complex includes two recreation fields for PE classes and club activities. These fields are also used by the varsity soccer team for practice.
The Amy Batchelor '88, Trustee, Tennis Courts
Resurfaced in the fall of 2023, Wellesley's outdoor tennis facility features six tennis courts for varsity and recreational use. The courts are also fully lit, allowing for practice and competition at any time of day. They are the site for Wellesley's varsity tennis competitions and practices. In the event of inclement weather, the team has option of playing indoors on three courts located inside Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.
Varsity Weight Room
Located in the lower level of the Keohane Sports Center, this facility allows Wellesley to offer sport-specific programming for all 13 varsity teams. Year after year the facility continues to develop to meet the needs of its student-athletes. The barbells and bumper plates were a gift from Ann Batchelder, professor emeritus. Each year the weight room adds new Hammer Strength, Life Fitness, and Perform Better products.
Athletic Training Room
The Athletic Training Room is located in the basement of the Keohane Sports Center, room B30. Normal hours of operation are between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM Monday-Friday or until 30 minutes after the last sport has finished practice or competition (if after 7:00 PM).
Nehoiden Golf Club
Nehoiden Golf Club’s founding can be traced to the dawn of golf in Massachusetts, in the 1890s. Since the establishment of Wellesley College in 1870, its founders, Pauline and Henry Fowle Durant, believed in the importance of physical exercise for women, as a necessary complement to the demands of a rigorous academic education.