It's Official — Eastern Baseball Field Named After Coaching Legend

WILLIMANTIC, CT — In an event that new Eastern Connecticut State University President Karim Ismaili said was long overdue, the baseball stadium at the Mansfield Athletic Outdoor Complex was named after legendary coach Bill Holowaty.

Saturday's naming of the Holowaty Family Field was attended by Holowaty and his immediate family, baseball alumni, school dignitaries, alumni from other sports at Eastern and the extended "family" the coach himself insisted on including in the naming process.

"This means lot to me, but it is also about us ... we're family," Holowaty said to the large crowd that gathered at the field.

His number 22 was stenciled onto the field behind home plate and he was officially a-bat on the scoreboard. The ceremony was emceed by long-time local radio personality Wayne Norman, who called many of Holowaty's games and is part of that extended family.

Holowaty is one of the most successful coaches in NCAA Division III history. Over his 45-year career (1969-2013) at the helm of the Warriors, Holowaty amassed a career record of 1,404-525-7 (.727), making him the winningest coach across all sports in New England collegiate athletics history.

His Little East Conference record was 194-44.

His Little East Tournament record was 44-24.

Eastern won seven Little East Tournament titles under Holowaty.

Eastern produced 104 All-Conference players under him.

Eastern won national championships 1982, 1990, 1998 and 2002.

From 1997 to 2012, Eastern won either the Little East Conference regular season or postseason championship — or both — in 14 of 16 seasons.

Holowaty was named National Coach of the Year four times and, in 2015, was enshrined into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

"Coach Holowaty's decades of leadership helped establish a legacy of competitive excellence at Eastern," Ismaili said. "His teams brought national recognition to our university and created some of the most memorable moments in Eastern athletics. Naming the field in honor of the Holowaty family is a tribute to Coach's impact on the baseball program, and to generations of student-athletes, alumni and supporters who helped build and sustain its success."

As he greeted the crowd, Ismaili, who grew up in London, led the crowd in an English football-type chant — Holllll-ohhhhh-watttttt-eeeeee (clap, clap, clap, clap clap).

Holowaty said he "thinks of Eastern every day."

"It's the Eastern family," he said to the crowd at the ceremony. "All of you have made Eastern better."

His daughter, Jen, concurred.

"It's not just my father's legacy, but to Eastern baseball," she said.