When William & Mary head field hockey coach Tess Ellis first came to the college in 1992, she said she remembers dragging old sticks from a now-demolished equipment shed on Barksdale Field back for use.
Her office is filled with photos — and even more have been moved to the archives — depicting the rich history of the team.
This semester, through donations, the team is once again making history.
As part of the commemoration of 100 years of coeducation and 100 years of women’s athletics, a team of donors has contributed $2.4 million to establish new facilities at Busch Field through the Century Project.
The Century Project aims to enhance the experience of female athletes and the caliber of the college’s facilities. Now, following a vote by the Board of Visitors, the facilities will be named the Tribe Field Hockey Center, featuring public restrooms, women-only locker rooms and other athletic facilities.
For donor Cathy Bessant, mother of recent graduate and field hockey player Meredith Clay and Bank of America chief of operations and technology, there were several clear reasons that led her to give back to the team.
One of these reasons is that, to her, student athletics is a way to foster personal and professional skills. Athletics develops “whole life” skills.
“I’m a big believer in athletics,” Bessant said. “I think that athletics teach resilience; they teach team effort; they teach the importance of preparation. If I see two resumes that look identical, and one person’s an athlete, whether they are number one on the team or the last person on the bench, I want to interview the athlete first. It also teaches how to balance complex demands on your time.”
Additionally, Bessant said she saw the need to support both women’s athletics and the field hockey team after her first time in Williamsburg cheering on her daughter.
Throughout her years as a field hockey parent, Bessant said she’s noticed women’s sports get less attention from donors and from the audience.
“Women’s sports have typically gotten far less resources than some of the men’s sports,” Bessant said. “This field hockey facility is $2.4 million. I think the school just paid over $20 million to renovate the football field. I know this is an ongoing question, the real fact of it is, there is a real question of equity in the support of women’s athletics. I get that women’s athletics don’t bring in the big money. That said, an institution with the academic and social integrity of William and Mary, I expect to be a leader in gender equity. Part of what I wanted to do with our lead gift here is motivate and encourage the university to work on athletic equity.”
For Bessant, one of the largest donors of the Century Project, her financial contribution was also intended to encourage others to donate.
“Age, income, gender, race, none of that matters when you’re cheering for your team,” Bessant said. “I do think it has societal benefit in uniting communities and uniting people. I also think that athletics make for really vibrant communities. It is a lot of fun and very attractive and very magnetic to have a rich athletics community.”
Other lead donors include John Clay, the father of Meredith Clay ’18, Kelly and Chris Donahue, Maryellen Farmer Feeley ’85, Ed Feeley M.B.A. ’85, Tribe Athletics Hall-of-Fame women’s golfer Tracy Leinbach ’81 and former women’s Athletics Director Millie West.
Bessant said she believes a new facility will improve the team’s competitive edge.
“I think physical facilities really matter,” Bessant said. “Having a place to prepare, having a place to come together, is important to athletes and team performance. The quality of facilities impact performance. … When the facilities aren’t competitive, it’s hard to do recruiting that is competitive.”
Ellis, the coach, echoed Bessant’s sentiment. She said the new field hockey facility will put William & Mary’s team among the ranks of the University of North Carolina and the University of Michigan — showcasing what she sees as the growing talent of the team.
“What we’re doing on the field is being matched off the field by the donors,” Ellis said. “We’ve stayed competitive, that’s allowed donors to take pride in that.”
Beyond recognizing the success of the field hockey team, which this year went to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament for the third time since 2000, the construction of the new facilities is also a move to celebrate equity in women’s athletics.
