Limestone Hosting Field Hockey Final Four, National Championship Has Big Impact On Local Community

Residents from Pennsylvania and New Hampshire filled the stands during a recent weekend in November when Limestone University hosted the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Final Four and National Championship at Saints Field.

With the swipe of her stick near the left post, Saint Anselm College all-time leading scorer Maddie Davis found the back of the net in overtime for a 1-0 win over Kutztown to win the program’s first national championship on Sunday, Nov. 24.

The NCAA announced in 2020 that Limestone would serve as the host site for the 2024 field hockey Final Four and National Championship. Limestone partnered with One Spartanburg Inc., formerly the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, on the successful bid for the championship event.

About 500 people attended the semifinals and national championship games featuring Kutztown University, Shippensburg University, East Stroudsburg University from Pennsylvania and Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.

Since Spartanburg was the host site, the NCAA Final Four teams stayed in hotels in Spartanburg. But Cherokee County received a positive economic impact from the event with field hockey fans traveling long distances from Pennsylvania and New Hampshire to watch their schools compete for the national championship. Attendees at the Final Four games stayed in local hotels, ate in local restaurants and brought out-of-county and out-of-state dollars into Cherokee County.

“It was a really cool experience for our institution and community. This was the first national championship hosted in Cherokee County,” said Hailey Martin, Limestone’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. “This enabled us to showcase Limestone on a national stage. It was a great experience for the coaches and student athletes who participated.”

Much of the $106 million annual economic impact provided by Limestone in Cherokee County comes through an athletic department with 23 teams, one of the largest in NCAA Division II.

Saints Field is home to Limestone’s football team, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey. Those teams combine to play over 45 regular season home games per year, attracting approximately 25,000 to 28,000 visitors. Most of those fans are from outside the local community.

Along with practicing at Limestone, the NCAA Final Four field hockey teams spent time in local elementary schools introducing students to the field hockey sport and handing out gifts from the NCAA. The teams visited B.D. Lee, Draytonville, Limestone-Central and Northwest in a community service activity that is a traditional part of the NCAA Division II field hockey championship activities.

Limestone started its field hockey program in 2009. Martin said the community engagement activity was a great way to introduce elementary students to field hockey, which is one of the fast growing sports across the country.

“Our very own team here at Limestone won the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship and qualified for this year’s National Championship,” Martin said. “We came up one goal short against Shippensburg in the first round and just missed advancing into the Final Four here on our campus. We are incredibly proud of what our team accomplished this season, including an amazing overall record of 14-6.”

(Article by Scott Powell, The Gaffney Ledger, December 23, 2024)