For a map of athletic facilities, click here.

Ray Dennison Memorial Field

The Skyhawk football team plays its home games on the natural grass surface of Ray Dennison Memorial Field. Four thousand fans can fit into the bleachers on the west side of the stadium; as many as 6,000 people have crammed into the bowl for key games.

The stadium is named in honor of former Fort Lewis A&M Aggies football player Ray Dennison, who died on September 26, 1955, 30 hours after suffering a head injury on a kickoff against Trinidad State Junior College.

The Aggies dedicated the rest of the season to Dennison. With coaches Ned Wallace and Duane Skinner at the helm, they went 7-2-1 and finished high in the Empire Junior College Conference standings.

As the college moved from Hesperus to its present-day home overlooking Durango, campus officials decided to name the new football stadium in honor of Dennison.

Burnett Construction Company dug the bowl for the stadium from a natural depression in 1956. Construction began in the summer of 1958. The first games were played there in the fall of 1959.

On Oct. 29, 1960, preceding Fort Lewis A&M’s game with Eastern Arizona College, the new stadium was dedicated to Ray Dennison.

Since becoming a four-year college in 1963, the Fort Lewis football team is 85-107-2 in games played at Ray Dennison Memorial Field. Homecoming alone brings more than 4,000 fans to the stadium each fall making Dennison home to the largest sporting-event crowds in La Plata County each year.

Ray Dennison Memorial Field also houses an eight-room press box on the West side of the field for media and game-day staff.

Whalen Gymnasium

The Skyhawk women’s volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams play their home games in Whalen Gymnasium. Whalen Gymnasium counts capacity at 2,750 for basketball games and 1,500 for volleyball games.

The gym is named for Fort Lewis College Hall-of-Famer Dr. Donald F. Whalen, who passed away September 26, 2006.

In 2003, the Whalen Gymnasium, formerly known as the Fort Lewis Field House, was dedicated to the lifelong supporter of Fort Lewis.

Dr. Whalen began a 29-year career at Fort Lewis College in 1959 as a physical education instructor, head basketball coach and assistant football coach. He became the school’s Director of Athletics in 1962 and served in that capacity for eight seasons. During that time, he started and coached the Fort Lewis College golf team. Other posts held by Dr. Whalen include Director and Dean of the School of Education, Acting Dean of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Acting President of the college before his retirement in 1988. Following retirement, Dr. Whalen worked witht he Fort Lewis College Foundation and the Admissions and Development Office.

Dirks Field

The Skyhawk men’s and women's soccer teams play their home games on the natural grass surface of Dirks Field. A capacity of 2,000 helped the Skyhawks lead the nation in attendence for Division II men’s soccer in 2005 and 2006.

The field is named for Fort Lewis College friend and donor Martin Dirks, a former club soccer player at Fort Lewis in the 1970s. Today, Martin supports the soccer program in many ways, including financially.

Some of Dirks’ contributions include donating funds, which went towards men’s soccer locker room improvements, the fence surrounding the field, and the scoreboard, which first graced the field in 2004, part of the excavation of the football practice fields and part of Dirks Field, as well as scholarship money.

Prior to Dirks Field, the soccer program shared Ray Dennison Memorial Field with the football team starting in 1991, the year of the men's program’s inception, until 1997.

In addition to hosting the Skyhawks, Dirks field has hosted many playoff games. Soccer also uses the adjacent press box located on Ray Dennison Memorial Field.

Aspen Field

Aspen Field, home of the Fort Lewis College Skyhawk women's softball team, also hosts the Durango High School ladies' Demon softball team in the fall and recreational league softball during summer months. Aspen field was dedicated in memory of George A. Fisher, who collapsed on the pitcher's mound and died in July 1985.

The softball complex also includes the Birch and Cedar fields, as well as a playground.

Auxillary Athletic Facilities

Weight room

The Fort Lewis College weight room, located in Whalen Gymnasium, is used by the varsity athletic program. The Fort Lewis football program's friend Robert DeGuelle generously donated $60,000 for renovations in 2006. 

Athletic Training Room

The Athletic Training Room caters to students athletes and offers hands-on learning experience for Exercise Science students who are enrolled in the Athletic Training Program.

Pool/Aquatics Center

The Aquatics Center houses most of the Skyhawk Athletic offices as well as an Olympic-sized swimming and diving pool. Area high schools, clubs and Fort Lewis Students are the primary users of this facility. Summer camps also use the pool on a limited basis.

Student Life Center

The Student Life Center is a $7.5 million student-funded facility at Fort Lewis College. The Student Life Center was a 2002 NIRSA Outstanding Sports Faclity award winner and an Athletic Business Facility of Merit nominee and a 2003 Recreation Management Honor Award Winner. The space within the facility has been dedicated to meet the present and future needs of open recreation, outdoor pursuits, fitness programs and intramural programs for the students. For more information, click here.

Tennis courts

The tennis courts at Fort Lewis College are used for Exercise Science classes year round and also housed the varsity tennis program during its existence.

Skyhawk Hall

Skyhawk Hall, finished in 1999, includes four smart classrooms, as well as a dance studio.