Penn State Brandywine is bringing in a bona fide Philadelphia sports legend to help pay for something the campus has never had: its own baseball and softball fields. Larry Bowa, the shortstop who anchored the Phillies' 1980 World Series championship team, will serve as keynote speaker at the university's Field of Dreams fundraiser on November 7, with tickets including a buffet dinner and a question-and-answer session with the Phillies icon himself.
The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Commons/Athletic Center gym on the Media, Pennsylvania campus, according to PHILADELPHIA.Today. Tickets cost $100 each, must be purchased in advance, and go on sale through October 31. Registration for the broader event closes at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, and the ticket price also includes an open bar alongside the buffet dinner and keynote speech, according to Penn State Brandywine Athletics — though current Penn State students are not permitted to attend. Organizers will also raffle off 25 baskets during the night.
The money raised is going toward a two-part, multi-million dollar turf field project: an all-turf softball field first, followed by a multi-sport turf facility built for baseball, men's soccer and women's soccer. It is a long-overdue fix for a campus that, despite fielding competitive programs for years, has never had its own diamond or pitch.
Why Brandywine Still Has No Home Field
Right now, Penn State Brandywine's baseball and softball teams play every home game roughly 15 minutes off-campus at Maple Zone Sports Village, located at 4881 Chichester Avenue in Aston, Pennsylvania, according to Penn State Brandywine Athletics. That means packing up players, equipment and fans for every single contest rather than simply walking across campus. It is an unusual arrangement for a program that just capped a 34-7 softball season in May and won its second consecutive United East Conference championship with a 3-2 walk-off win over Penn College, the station's report on league results shows.
The timing adds extra weight to the fundraising push. Penn State Brandywine was approved in July to advance into its third and final provisional year of NCAA Division III membership, keeping the campus on pace for full NCAA Division III status in the 2027-28 academic year, per the same account from Penn State University. The school joined the United East Conference in 2024. Campus leaders are also investing in facilities that match Division III expectations.
Coaches Pitch the Project as More Than a Sports Upgrade
Head baseball coach Vinny Gallo and head women's soccer coach Matt Duffey laid out the stakes earlier this month on the campus podcast We Are Chattin', arguing that on-campus turf fields would cut down on weather rainouts, improve day-to-day student life, and open the door to summer community events hosted right on campus, according to Penn State University. The pitch frames the fields not simply as a varsity upgrade but as an investment in keeping students on campus and giving Delaware County a usable athletic space beyond game days.
Penn State Brandywine is working to expand its athletic footprint with the proposed fields.
Bowa Brings Star Power and a Comeback Story
Bowa's own path makes him a fitting face for a fundraiser built around persistence. He was cut from his high school baseball team and went undrafted before signing with the Phillies for a $1,200 bonus out of Sacramento City College in 1965, eventually piling up 2,191 hits over a 16-year major-league career, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played 12 of those seasons with the Phillies and was the starting shortstop on the franchise's first World Series-winning team in 1980.
Beyond that championship season, Bowa earned five NL All-Star selections and two Gold Glove Awards as a shortstop, and he was named National League Manager of the Year in 2001 while leading the Phillies, according to Major League Baseball and the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also coached in Major League Baseball after his playing career.
Penn State Brandywine is asking its community to help fund a permanent athletic facility.
