NEW HAVEN, Conn. – On Friday evening, Yale Athletics welcomed alumni and members of the Yale community to the official ribbon-cutting and re-opening of the Lapham Field House at the Smilow Field Center at the Carm Cozza Complex.
 
"Today marks a momentous occasion for our university and its athletic community," said Victoria M. "Vicky" Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics said at the event. "We stand before a facility that represents transformation, progress, and the very embodiment of our vision for Yale Athletics. After 100 years, with the invaluable support of distinguished Yale alumni and the university, this magnificent building has been renovated to its status as a world-class athletics facility."

The $38 million, newly renovated Lapham Field House at the Smilow Field Center is home to the Yale football and Yale men's and women's track & field and cross country programs. Each team has their own designated locker room space, complete with upgraded lockers and lounges for student-athletes. Additional spaces are comprised of a 110-person meeting space with a retractable wall, stadium seating, and upgraded audio-visual equipment, as well as positional meeting rooms, nutrition stations, and a creative studio.
 
As part of the capital project, the Yale Bowl complex was also dedicated in memory of Carm Cozza, who served as Yale Football's head coach from 1965 to 1996.
 
"Coach Cozza was admired as much for his success on the field as for serving as a mentor to thousands of Yale student-athletes spanning four different decades—helping them to thrive in their sport, in their studies, and in life," said Yale's President Maurie McInnis, B.A., '90 M.A., '96 Ph.D. "As we welcome the community of coaches and student-athletes to these quarters, we trust they will occupy these spaces in a spirit of sportsmanship and excellence. I am confident they will fulfill every hope in Yale Athletics that honors the legendary coach whose name this complex bears."

The building also includes space for athletic medicine and equipment services. The upgraded athletic medicine space consists of hydrotherapy pools, upgraded rehab and medical equipment, and a physician's office. The renovated lobby showcases the tradition, history and success of Yale Football. Additionally, the updated cross country and track & field space honors the history and achievements of Yale Olympians as well as highlights the venerable Coxe Cage facility.