Facility Photo Gallery I
Facility Photo Gallery II
Facility Photo Gallery III
Completed in 2003, Southern Illinois University's Charlotte West Stadium has quickly earned a reputation as one of the finest softball facilities in the country, as well as being a tough venue for an opponent to come and play in.
Since its opening on March 1, 2003, the Salukis have sported an .825 winning percentage in their home facility.
The stadium is named for Dr. Charlotte West, who retired as SIU's associate athletics director in 1998, and served the University for 42 years as a faculty member, coach and administrator.
She began her faculty career at SIU in 1957 as an instructor in the department of physical education. She became a full professor in 1973 and developed SIU's graduate program in sport management, which she directed until June 1991.
From 1960 until 1986, West was director of intercollegiate athletics for women. She helped transform the department from its meager beginnings into a nationally-recognized program with a budget of more than $1 million for 11 sports.
After the 1986 merger of the men's and women's athletics departments, West served as associate athletics director for one year, interim director for a year and associate athletics director for 10 years.
Barrett Rochman, a Carbondale businessman and SIU alumnus, who is a significant annual contributor to the softball program, had the softball field named in his honor.
The $1.7 million stadium was officially opened on March 15, 2003 with a 9-0 win over Bradley, in front of a crowd of 395 fans.
The next year (2004), West Stadium served as the host of the MVC Softball Championship.
The state-of-the-art facility holds 502 fans and is one of the finest in the Midwest.
The stadium features chair back and bleacher seating, a concession area, restrooms, lights, large dugouts, a training room, full-size lockers in a carpeted locker room, a large electronic scoreboard, coaches' office, two batting cages, an irrigation system, laundry facilities and a spacious, elevated pressbox with phone and ethernet connections.
The West Stadium field consists of a four-way sports turf mix outfield with a Kentucky Bluegrass primary and Crimson Stone Ultimate Series Infield, which is illuminated by a top-of-the-line lighting system for night games.
