Softball became a varsity sport at Oberlin College in the year 2000 with the John W. Heisman Club providing funding for the construction of the field. At the time of the program’s inception, it was decided that the field be named after a pioneer in women’s athletics at Oberlin, Mary J. Culhane.
Culhane came to Oberlin as an educator in 1956 when the College offered physical education as a major. Her career was impressive and through the years her roles within the athletic department broadened to include women’s athletic director, women’s indoor and outdoor track coach, volleyball coach, swim coach and synchronized swimming coach. She was at the forefront of the movement to form the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), one of the first collegiate conferences to be fully co-educational from its inception.
Culhane was an important figure to alumni and students at the College, as a mentor, a coach and an advocate for women’s athletics. She also continued to set an example of her commitment to sports and fitness in her later years, successfully competing in masters swimming. The Heisman Club, along with her extensive supporters, has long lobbied to have the existing scoreboard enhanced so that it clearly bears her name.
In 2012 Culhane Field was the site for the beast season in program history. The Yeowomen nearly doubled the previous record for wins by racking up 14 in the 2012 campaign. Following the season, Culhane Field witnessed a slew of facility enhancements capped off by the addition of a new Daktronics scoreboard due to the kind donation from Steve Shapiro '83. In addition to the new scoreboard, the infield was renovated to increase drainage, the warning track was leveled off with new crushed brick, windscreens were added to the outield wall and backstop and new bleachers were installed. The renovations make Culhane Field one of the finest in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
