Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium to feature newly named playing surface

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Networkm

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke Blue Devils football team will run out onto a newly named field at Wallace Wade Stadium this season.

In recognition of the $13 million commitment to the Duke Athletics Department that alumnus Steve Brooks and his wife, Eileen, provided, the facility’s field will be named Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium as announced by University president Richard H. Brodhead on Friday.

“Lifting Duke football to the level of the rest of the university has been one of the pleasures of recent years, and Steve and Eileen Brooks have been steadfast friends throughout that process,” Brodhead said.

“We are grateful for their generosity, which will provide a strong foundation for the student-athlete experience at Duke.”

The Brooks family has a long history of giving to Duke, including support for the Brooks Practice Facility and Brooks Building for Duke Football.

With this latest gift, their commitment to the athletics department and the school exceeds $20 million.

“Steve and Eileen Brooks have been tremendously generous, as well as incredibly faithful, relative to supporting Duke University for many years and, specifically in the case of Duke Football, no one has been more committed to helping us build a championship program,” vice president and director of athletics Kevin White said.

The Brooks have two sons, Matt and Steven.

A native of Atlanta, Brooks graduated from Duke in 1970, and is the president and chief executive officer of the Phoenix American Insurance Group Inc.

He has served on the Trinity Board of Visitors, Duke Athletics Advisory Board and the Duke Law School Board.

Matt, who graduated from Duke in 2004, earned four varsity letters as a member of the football team, and in 2009 additionally received an MBA and a JD from Duke.

“We are pleased to have a small part in the ongoing efforts, led by president Dick Brodhead, director of athletics Kevin White, and coach David Cutcliffe, to put Duke Football on par with the very best college football programs in the nation,” Brooks said.

“We want to thank all the Athletic Department football staff and coaches for their tireless efforts on behalf of Duke Football and Duke University.”

The gift will contribute to Duke Forward, the seven-year, university-wide fundraising campaign that aims to raise $3.25 billion by June 30, 2017.