News

Sports complex updates are underway at Subiaco Academy

Trojans football will play games on new field this fall

Published: June 17, 2024      

By Isabella Divino
Special to Arkansas Catholic

Abbott Elijah Owens, OSB, (left) and headmaster David Wright view senior night soccer game in April on the current Reynold P. Maus Sports Complex field at Subiaco Academy. (Debra Lynn Post)

Abbott Elijah Owens, OSB, (left) and headmaster David Wright view senior night soccer game in April on the current Reynold P. Maus Sports Complex field at Subiaco Academy. (Debra Lynn Post)

Significant transformations began in May at Subiaco Academy. The all-boys Benedictine school is adding an artificial turf playing field and all-weather track to the Reynold P. Maus Sports Complex, replacing the current dirt track and grass field.

The facility is expected to be open by the beginning of September.

“These state-of-the art facilities will help the institution to attract students, and our multiple constituents will appreciate using these venues on a year-round basis,” headmaster David Wright said.  

The new artificial turf for football and soccer practices and games and track will cost $2 million, including new stadium lighting, fence and press box renovations.

While there are many benefits that will come from the update, such as the reduction of time and resources needed to maintain a dirt field, and keeping up with developing technology of sports venues, Wright’s focus is on the physical well-being and growth of students. 

Wright started his career at Gettysburg College as the head men’s soccer coach. He eventually became the athletic director and then assistant vice president, overseeing athletics.

Wright said he believes “in that whole-person development, with the physical development and well-being being a part of that.”

“We not only look for the faith and spiritual growth of our students, and obviously their intellectual and academic growth, but also we focus on physical well-being, and being involved in a robust athletic program is really important,” he said. ”Being an all-boys school, it’s particularly important that we offer a great variety in our interscholastic sports and also offer wonderful facilities and wonderful mentor coaches to be able to assist as well.”

Wright said, “having top-notch facilities, which will attract people to be physically active in their life, is a great benefit when the school can provide that,” he said. “And it will do that for our students, our faculty and staff, the monks and everybody who would want to take advantage of these wonderful facilities. … the more engaging they can be for your campus, then the more people want to be a part of that.” 

Significant updates have been made to the campus since Wright began as headmaster in 2018. While there were already talks of a capital campaign when he arrived, he said he feels “blessed that the community was invested in paying attention to the facilities for the academy” and that “really making sure that we can provide our students with first-rate, state-of-the-art facilities in this day and age is very, very important.”

“You know, we want students to engage in their experiences at Subiaco Academy at a high level, we have high expectations of them,” he said. “And I think our families and our alumni have high expectations of the academy. So it was a matter of meeting those expectations and wanting to ensure that our programmatic offerings would be able to utilize top-flight facilities in the execution of those programs.”

Please read our Comments Policy before posting.