A home away from home

It’s Sunday, and the groundskeepers at Jack Barry Field, a 100,000-square foot pitch nestled within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s sprawling Cambridge campus, sweep through the rows of simple aluminum bleachers for empty water bottles and discarded snack wrappers. Behind them, a separate crew drags out a set of field hockey nets and positions them at opposite ends of the field in anticipation for Tuesday’s match between MIT and Gordon College.

The field itself is a green, coarse AstroTurf emblazoned with the cardinal red and silver of the Engineers. The artificial surface is dashed with an array of lines designed to host both field hockey and lacrosse. It is, in appearance, solely MIT territory.

But while the scoreboard’s paint job offers the partisan distinction of “MIT” and “Guest,” Jack Barry Field is called home by tenants from the other side of the Charles River.

Since 2001, the facility has also been home to the Boston University Terriers field hockey team. The six-year partnership between the universities has witnessed an era of considerable success for BU, who have posted a combined season record of 79-54 and won two America East championships. The partnership, however, originally began as an arrangement made out of necessity.

It was six years ago when BU’s Nickerson Field, the previous home of the field hockey team, ditched its AstroTurf pitch and installed a new FieldTurf surface that better simulated a natural grass field. The new turf was perfect for the soccer and lacrosse teams, but, according to BU Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch, the field hockey team’s players and staff were concerned about how their play would adapt to the different feel of Nickerson’s new grounds.

The Terriers had already established themselves as a dominant force within America East and were looking forward to playing on the AstroTurf surface that had hosted their high level of play. The hunt for an area facility capable of accommodating a top-ranked NCAA field hockey team was on.

The search for a new facility would ultimately benefit from the connections of BU’s longtime coach, Sally Starr.

“Sally Starr originally suggested the switch to Jack Barry Field,” said Lynch, now in his fourth year as athletic director. “She has done most of the work in developing the working relationship with MIT.”

Lynch notes that while MIT has been very accommodating, having the varsity team located in Cambridge is a less than ideal situation.

“It’s just the best possible option at this time,” he said.

Starr’s hand in finding a new home for the team was only a minor part of her already considerably impressive BU coaching career. Since joining BU’s field hockey program as head coach in 1981, Starr has put together winning records in 20 of the past 23 seasons. Under Starr, the Terriers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament nine times, including consecutive appearances in 1999-2000 and 2005-2006.

Starr’s all-time coaching record stands at 338-211-21, including two years at Bucknell University prior to joining BU athletics. She ranks 14th all-time in career wins among college coaches. Her Terrier tenure included the 1987 ECAC championship, six America East conference championships, nine America East regular season titles and 11 appearances in the conference title game.

The field itself is named after John G. “Jack” Barry, a man highly regarded in New England sports circles, and a legend in the realm of MIT athletics.

Barry came to MIT in 1959, acting as men’s basketball coach, junior varsity baseball coach and assistant professor of physical education. In 1961, he took over the varsity baseball program, and later headed the golf program. Barry’s eight years as baseball coach produced a modest record, but, in as much time, he cemented his reputation as a basketball general.

With the Engineers, Barry earned more victories than any basketball coach in the history of the college, compiling a record of 162 wins and a .570 cumulative winning percentage. From 1960 to 1968, he earned eight consecutive winning seasons, an era during which he racked up a number of honors. The Engineers won a school-record 15 straight games during the 1961-62 campaign, and Barry, for his efforts, was named New England College Division Coach of the Year. A few seasons later, the MIT squad would again put up impressive numbers, and was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s Team of the Year.

During Barry’s varsity coaching career, he led multiple MIT teams into a total of 873 contests, a figure that places him atop the list of coaches in the history of MIT intercollegiate athletics.

Barry was named Assistant Athletic Director in 1968, and acted in that capacity until 1987, when he retired from all duties except coaching the golf team, which he headed until 1996. When he retired in 1987, a newly completed synthetic turf athletic area on MIT’s campus was named in his honor.

MIT installed the field’s current AstroTurf surface in 1999. Barry passed away on Nov. 26 of that year from a long-term illness at the age of 80. While he was already entrenched in MIT’s record books, the Terriers’ relocation allows Jack Barry’s name to find a place in the growing legacy of BU field hockey.

And it is growing.

“This year, the expectations are high,” Lynch said. “The team has a number of players with NCAA experience, and a couple of All-Americans.”

The team is lead by senior midfielder Pam Speuhler, a two-time All-American. The Terriers have surged to an 8-2 record in this season, including a 2-0-1 home mark.

While Lynch appreciates MIT’s accommodations, he acknowledges it is still not enough for the successful Terriers.

“We are going to continue to review options to bring the field hockey team back to campus,” he said.

The possibility of BU’s return to campus is still uncertain, but the team doesn’t seem to mind. The Terriers’ time at Jack Barry Field has been prosperous, and their record shows they are not living in the shadow of MIT’s most successful coach, but are embracing the winning legacy of the man whose name adorns their home away from home.