Stevens celebrates Homecoming Oct. 25th with athletics, food and fun for students, alumni and the community

HOBOKEN, N.J. - Stevens Institute of Technology will host a day of exciting men's and women's collegiate sports as well as family activities Saturday, Oct. 25th, when it celebrates Homecoming.

The festivities begin with an 11:30 a.m. on-campus "tailgate party" on the north side of the Athletic Center's DeBaun Field (8th Street and Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken), followed by the Stevens Ducks in action: Men's Soccer, Women's Tennis, and Men's and Women's Swimming at 1 p.m.; and a special Men's Lacrosse Intra-Squad Scrimmage at 4 p.m.

Students and their families, many Stevens alumni, and members of the Stevens and Hoboken communities will attend. All attendees are asked to RSVP to Annette Saslow by calling (201) 216-8967 or writing to asaslow@stevens.edu. Admission is free.

"This year's Homecoming affords everyone the chance to come out, have some good food and family fun, and see a diverse cross-section of men's and women's sports that are sure to inspire," said Russ Rogers, Stevens Athletic Director.

The Men's Soccer match at 1 p.m. will feature Stevens vs. Mount St. Mary College at DeBaun Field. This is a major conference match for the Stevens Ducks - they are currently ranked 14th in the nation in Division III.

Action elsewhere on campus is also on tap at 1 p.m.: Women's Tennis will take on Mount St. Mary on the northern campus courts (spectators can have an excellent view from the hill at 9th Street and the north Stevens gate); and the Men's and Women's Swimming teams will host Vassar and William Paterson in the DeBaun Aquatic Center, the Schaefer Athletic Center's pool (the Schaefer Center is located in the center of campus immediately east of the athletic field).

The pre-season Men's Lacrosse Intra-Squad Scrimmage will be held on DeBaun Field following the soccer match. Although it's hardly your traditional Homecoming sport, lacrosse is one of Stevens' most longstanding traditions, and the chance to see an intra-squad scrimmage by Stevens' outstanding 2003 team is a special treat, according to Rogers.

Stevens holds the nation's record for uninterrupted competition in lacrosse since 1884. Twenty-two Stevens players have been named All-Americans, and players over the years have made pioneering contributions to the game. Stevens won national championships in 1892, 1894, 1917 and 1918 and received the USILA-Roy Taylor Cup in 1953 as one of the nation's top Division III lacrosse teams.

And today, the Stevens Ducks lacrosse teams are just as exciting as ever.

The 2001 men's lacrosse season was perhaps the greatest in modern school history as the Ducks captured the Knickerbocker Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for the first time in school history. The 2002 squad received Top 20 votes in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook while being picked to finish first in the Knickerbocker Conference.

In 2003 Men's Lacrosse will be seeking its third straight Knickerbocker Conference Championship and third consecutive berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The newly resurfaced DeBaun Field, named for Stevens benefactors Grace E. and Kenneth W. DeBaun, was completed in 2002. Kenneth DeBaun, a Stevens Trustee and alumnus ('49), and his wife pledged $3 million to support the new field and athletic complex. The DeBauns' pledge also challenges others to make matching contributions. Landscaping near the field, upgraded dugouts and spectator seating, flagpoles, a new scoreboard, fencing and entrances were part of the project.

The new athletic field itself, emblazoned with a proud red "S", replaces Stevens' old grass field with a modern NeXturf™ surface. This surface, a next-generation synthetic, is a major advance over earlier artificial turf surfaces. Modeled on natural grass, NeXturf has been endorsed and used by professional sports teams and universities nationwide for its durability, safety and performance.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

For the latest news about Stevens, please visit StevensNewsService.com.