Magee-Samuelson Track
Whittier Field is the home of the Jack Magee Track. The beautiful Hubbard Grandstand was designed and built in 1903. The Magee Track was constructed in 1970 as a tribute to Bowdoin coach Jack Magee, who led the Polar Bears from 1910 through 1960.
The Magee Track was the site of a 1972 Olympic Training Camp that brought American Olympic athletes including Steve Prefontaine to Bowdoin for the summer before the Munich Olympics. The track has also hosted dozens of college and high school championship in addition to the Maine Distance Festival.
Bowdoin announced plans to renovate Whittier Field and Magee Samuelson Track, named partially in honor of Olympic champion, Maine native, and Bowdoin graduate Joan Benoit Samuelson '79. in a two-phase project that began in May 2017 and finished in 2019. The intial phase included replacing the existing grass field with artificial turf and adding lights, seating, and a new press box, along with an expansion of the current six-lane track to the eight lanes required to host championship track meets. Phase II of the Whittier Field project included the construction of a one-story 8,780 square foot support facility that houses locker, training, and equipment rooms and public restrooms. Also included in the scope is the completion of the east end of the bleacher system installed fall 2017.
