“We’ve been playing football on this field since about 1895,” Waynesburg University President Douglas G. Lee said. “It is amazing how God has sustained this institution and we’ve stayed faithful to the mission we have.”

John F. Wiley Stadium has gone through many renovations over the last year; an expanded parking lot, renovations to the President’s Box, locker rooms and a brand new wall near the railroad tracks. While it appears that these renovations happened over night, it took many months of planning for these projects. 

“We had a year in preparation,” Timothy Lucas, director of maintenance, said. “Given the flood zone any work we do we have to get permit approval from the state.”

Lucas teamed up with Chadwick Construction to take on what was a massive task at hand with the new wall at John F. Wiley. The wall took roughly a million pounds of concrete and ended up being 18 inches thick and 20 feet tall. 

“I thought they were amazing, “ Waynesburg University Athletic Director Timothy Fusina said. “Their communication was outstanding.”

While the wall at John F. Wiley Stadium may be the most notable to fans and the general public’s eye, it is not all that Waynesburg renovated. A brand new pavilion was put in the parking lot on East Lincoln Street.

“The pavilion is a place to meet with families and recruits and postgame meals,” Vice President for Enrollment Management, Athletics, Facilities and Strategic Initiatives Adam Jack said. “There’s a lot of progress made down there based upon the vision of President Lee.”

A renovation that was done to John F. Wiley Stadium was made just for Lee, as Lucas and his Waynesburg University maintenance team made renovations to the President’s Box. 

“The guys that came to install the countertops had to carry stone countertops that weighed hundreds of pounds up 97 steps,” Lucas said. 

The maintenance team installed new countertops, and also updated the box with windows, flooring, lighting, ceiling, television and an air conditioning unit. 

To the average Waynesburg fan, you would not have noticed the additions to the locker rooms for the athletes that play down at John F. Wiley Stadium. The new locker rooms now have shower rooms, new lockers, new flooring, new lights, essentially a whole new locker room. 

“I wanted to enhance the game day experience for all of the student athletes here, “ Jack said. “It’s a very similar design to some of the locker rooms at bigger universities around the country.”

Though the renovations at John F. Wiley Stadium appear to be done for right now, the athletic department is always looking for new opportunities to make its other facilities better.

“We’re always looking for those sort of things,” Fusina said. “If we’re not looking for those sort of things I’m not doing my job.”

The Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse had new roofing done over the summer through an Amish contractor that Mr. Lucas hired. The new roof was done with a spray foam that will have a warranty on it through the year 2053. 

Even the tennis courts got lights on through the generous donations of Mr. Scott Bechtle, a 1973 graduate of Waynesburg University. The facilities have been renamed now to the, “Betchle Family Tennis Facility.”

“None of this could have been done without the help of donors,” Jack said. “We have made millions and millions of dollars of upgrades because of the people that love Waynesburg and love our mission.”