Ithaca College announced a new outdoor track after receiving funds from anonymous donors. The eight-lane, 400-meter track is scheduled to be finished by September 2025 and is projected to cost an estimated $4 million.

The track will be built on Yavits Field by Clark Companies after the project and location pass approval from the Town of Ithaca. Construction is scheduled to begin in late April, during which Yavits Field and Lot N, a lot for student parking, will be blocked off during the construction process. The construction project will add a bus loop to the end of the parking lot, so buses can easily turn around when transporting people from the Athletics and Events Center to the new field.

Susan Bassett ’79, associate vice president and director for intercollegiate athletics and campus recreation, said the idea of building a new track began in 2015 when she was assessing the quality of the outdoor facility. The old track was located around the football field in Butterfield Stadium and was torn up in 2023.

“I felt the … urgency to make the track project happen mostly because our students didn’t have an appropriate facility to practice on,” Bassett said. “[Not having an outdoor track] left a gaping hole in our intercollegiate sport offerings.”

Bassett said the track torn up in 2023 had disadvantages like being a six-lane track, which was constrained by the wall and the building.

“It had long runways and a really tight turning radius and that is not optimal for collegiate track,” Bassett said. “Their preference is to have as wide a turning radius as possible.”

Tim Downs, chief financial officer and vice president of the Division of Finance and Administration, said the college surveyed the campus for an ideal location for the track.

Downs said the college could not build the track by the Ithaca College Natural Lands behind the Athletics and Events Center because it is protected through restrictions, taking that location off the map. According to the Ithaca College Natural Lands Management Plan, it is recommended that all logging in the Natural Lands be prohibited. After a brief consideration of the parking lots — which were not large enough for the track — the college landed on the west side of campus. The location for the throwing fields will be moved to behind Emerson Hall, but Downs said there is not a completed plan for that process.

Jennifer Potter, head coach of the women’s track and field team, said she loves the track’s chosen location.

“It’s in a space that needs some beautifying,” Potter said. “It’s still in close proximity to the [A&E]. The throwing area will be less than 800 meters away from it, and we’ll have a place for buses to turn around and people to park and it’s still close to the academia on campus. I like that it’s not miles off-campus; it’s right in the thick of things.”

Sophomore Cayden Kuhns, a pole vaulter on the men’s track and field team, said he believes the track will give a reason for people to visit the west side of campus.

“[The track] is definitely going to catch people’s attention,” Kuhns said. “The location chosen for the track is already flat.”

Monica Bertino Wooden ’81 contributed funding in 2022 for the lights and synthetic surface of the track. But for the completion of the track, more donors were needed. Bassett said she searched for donors willing to contribute funds to finish the project.

“We went about the process of refining the track project,” Bassett said. “[We talked] to different donors about, ‘Would you be interested in funding this?’ Ultimately, we found alumni who wished to remain anonymous who are funding the majority of the project. … The project is funded mostly through donations from these anonymous donors with some support from the college capital fund.”

The amount of money donated versus the amount of money that the college is contributing is not disclosed to the public. Funding provided by the college is from the capital program, which is meant for larger projects. The operating budget — funded through renewable sources like tuition, room and board — is not impacted by this project.

Laine Norton, vice president of Ithaca College’s Division of Advancement, said Bassett being an alum of the college was a helpful asset in finding and talking to donors. Norton said the Division of Advancement helps support the college’s priorities.

“This can include asking for money from alums and finding ways for alumni to get involved with the college, like hiring or visiting or giving back to help sustainability,” Norton said.

Norton said she kept in contact with potential donors for the new track every few months, and invited them to campus to continue the relationship.

Potter said she found out the project was official when Bassett showed her a mini glass portable toilet. Potter found a note inside the toilet, and said she teared up while reading it.

“The message roughly read: ‘Dear Susan, congratulations on your new track. And, unfortunately, you’ll have to use porta potties until we can build permanent restrooms,’’ Potter said.

Downs said one of the most often asked questions about the new outdoor track was about restrooms. Between hiring utilities, heating water and plumbing, restroom management is expensive. After consideration, the board landed on portable toilets, for the time being.

Potter said that because of the added space on the new track, multiple practices will be able to occur at once. The new track will be able to host home meets, championships and possibly USA Track & Field meets or more community events. Potter also said she expects an influx of high school seniors committing to track.

First-year student Lizzie Andrus, a thrower on the women’s track and field team, said she hosted meets in high school and is looking forward to doing it again at college.

“It’s been awesome to host the bomber invite [indoors] and another quad invitation that we had, so I’m just excited to experience outdoor home weeks on our home turf,” Andrus said.

Potter said the new track will not be exclusive to track and field students of the college.

“It’s a multipurpose … facility where the community at large can also use it, not just people from college,” Potter said.

In the current absence of an outdoor track at Ithaca College, most members of the track and field team practice at Cornell University. Students are driven in vans by coaches if they lack transportation of their own. Come September when the new facility is finished, Ithaca College track and field students will no longer need to be driven with their equipment to Cornell. Junior Cece LaBonte, a multi-event athlete on the women’s track and field team, said she is excited about practicing on campus.

“It’s a hassle [going to Cornell] … we have to bring all of our stuff there and back,” LaBonte said. “Our schedule is a little bit unstable because if they say, ‘Oh, you can’t use it today,’ then we gotta find a place to practice. The new track will fix a lot of those problems.”

Andrus said she is looking forward to this experience with her peers and coaches.

“I think having that home turf is gonna bring a lot of camaraderie and great energy to the community, and I think it’s definitely going to support and promote great athletics and competition in many years to come,” Andrus said.