Pete FioRito Stadium at McKinzie Field

The Eureka College football team calls Pete FioRito Stadium at McKinzie Field its home.  Regularly boasting high attendance numbers and a festive game-day atmosphere, Saturday afternoons in the fall at McKinzie Field have long been the marquee attraction and experience of Eureka College athletics.

The playing field is named after legendary Eureka coach Ralph McKinzie (left).  The EC Hall of Famer, who coached Ronald Reagan during his football playing days, is the all-time wins leader in Eureka football history, guiding the Red Devils to 36 victories between 1921 and 1937.  McKinzie returned to Eureka after his retirement and remained on staff as a volunteer football assistant coach until the 1989 season.

Former Eureka football player Pete FioRito, who passed away from cancer at age 45 in 2003, had his name placed on the stadium during a halftime ceremony on Oct. 14, 2006. 

In the summer of 2011, Eureka began “The McKinzie Project” to renovate several aspects of the facility.  Construction crews broke ground in early August to install a 4-foot brick wall (top right during construction) that runs along Reagan Drive at the north boundary of the facility.  Additionally, the existing fence at the south end of the field was replaced with a 6-foot chain-link fence.

Prior to “The McKinzie Project”, the stadium received a new and improved look in the summer of 2006 with the addition of an entirely renovated grandstand along the Eureka sideline and a three-room press box for game day operations and working media. 

The Red Devils enjoyed tremendous success on their home field during their run as a national powerhouse in the 1990’s.  Eureka posted a 29-21 record at home during the decade, including a perfect 5-0 mark in 1991 and back-to-back 4-1 home records in 1994 and 1995.