Bagwell Field At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
This article documents the history and naming of Dowdy Ficklen Stadium and Bagwell Field.This information can be found on the East Carolina Pirates webpage.
The James Skinner Ficklen Memorial Stadium was dedicated on September 21, 1963, as East Carolina defeated Wake Forest 20-10.
In April, 1994, Ron and Mary Ellen Dowdy, of Orland, Fla., announced a $1 million gift to the ECU Educational Foundation. The gift would go toward the ongoing expansion of ECU's football stadium, which was renamed Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Ron Dowdy, who is a former member of the school's Board of Trustees, currently oversees commercial leases, residential apartments and several other enterprises, as a part of Dowdy Properties in Orlando.Dowdy, a 1966 graduate of ECU, has been involved with many civic organizations, including the Executive Committee of the Florida Citrus Sports Association, the Board of Directors for the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Board of Directors at Humana Hospital Lucerne in Orlando and the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee in Orange County.
Pirate fans everywhere are excited about the stadium expansion which will increase capacity to 47,700 this fall with the addition of the club level on the north side.
Also leaving a lasting legacy on the ECU Athletics is Al and Debbie Bagwell.After graduating in the early 1970's, the Bagwells have been gracious friends of the University ever since, with Al serving on the Pirate Club's Executive Committee in 1994-95 and being appointed to the University's Board of Visitors last fall.
The couple from Lake Gaston, VA, were honored last year for their recent gift to the East Carolina Educational Foundation's (Pirate Club) Shared Visions Campaign.For their contributions on behalf of the University and to the Educational Foundation, the Bagwells had their name become a permanent mark on the ECU landscape as the field is now and forever will be recognized as Bagwell Field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The original plan for the stadium was announced on Oct. 7, 1961, by Dr. Leo Jenkins, Chancellor of the College, at a meeting of the Society of Buccanneers.
Within a year, $283,387 had been raised, although the goal had been only $200,000.With the funds in hand, Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was built.
