Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium

Called the "most unique" name for a stadium in college sports, Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium was named in 1976 for a pair of Albion College athletic and academic legends: Dale Sprankle, who won 23 MIAA championships in four sports over a 26-year span as a teacher, coach, and athletic director; and Walter Sprandel, a championship coach in track and basketball while at Olivet and Albion, and later Albion's dean of students for parts of two decades.

Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium was transformed in summer 2011 with a $1.1-million project that included the installation of artificial turf on the football field and a new running surface on Elkin Isaac Track as well as improved facilities for spring field events. Lights were added as part of the second phase of athletic facility improvements in the summer of 2012.

Work on the state-of-the-art field began days after graduation in May with installation of a new drainage system. It was topped with a crushed stone base, cushioned infill, and finally the artificial turf.

Work shifted to the track and field areas once the football field was complete in July. The project involved more than resurfacing the 400-meter track, as the athletes in the long and triple jumps now have two runways and four jumping pits for training and competition. A new cage was installed east of the stadium to host the hammer throw.

Always a "packed house" for home football games, crowds often line the iron fence and mingle in the plaza to the west of the stands. The Albion marching band, The British Eighth, performs for all college home football games, providing a new show for each football appearance.

With an average attendance of nearly 3,000 spectators per game, Albion is annually among the top Division III colleges in average attendance each season. In 1999, Albion drew 5,114 spectators as Albion took on two-time defending Division III national champion, Mount Union, during the regular season opener that year.

The crowd and the stadium give Albion a definite home-field advantage. The Britons have also won the league title 16 times in the 36 year history of Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium. (Albion has won 34 league titles overall, the most among all Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association members.)

The stadium provides not only permanent seating for some 4,244 spectators, but also a pressbox, locker rooms and a concession stand.

In 1999, Albion renovated much of the stadium. A new building in the stadium's northeast corner includes a visiting team locker room for football. The facility, when football is not being played at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium, is used to house visiting teams for soccer, track and field, baseball and softball. On the top floor of the building are public restrooms and a concession stand. Included in the project was a brick walkway, new fencing and the addition of a plaza at the west end of the stadium. Inside the stadium, the varsity locker rooms were also renovated.

Prior to the Homecoming game against Ohio Wesleyan University in 2002, the stadium field was renamed in honor of legendary Briton football coach Morley Fraser. In his 15 seasons as head football coach, the Britons won five MIAA titles.