EAST HARTFORD – The University of Connecticut will officially introduce Rentschler Field in East Hartford to Division I football when the 2003 season opens on Saturday against Indiana. The Huskies finished 6-6 a year ago with a four-game win streak (and an impressive 37-20 win over Iowa State) closing the campaign.

The brand new $91.2 million, 40,000-seat Rentschler Field officially opened on Tuesday, July 29, on a 75-acre tract of land on the Pratt and Whitney campus. The field is named after the found of Pratt and Whitney, Frederick Renstchler.

“It’s great that we will be playing in a brand new stadium,” head coach Randy Edsall said in the team’s preseason prospectus. “There has been so much build-up to this by players, coaches and the entire university. Now we will get to bear the fruits of our labor by playing in such a great facility.”

The Huskies come into their new stadium (in the just the second full scholarship season at the I-A level) with a team boasting 16 returning starters.

Junior Dan Orlovsky (2,499 yards, 19 TDs) returns to quarterback the squad and sophomore Terry Caulley (1,306 yards, 15 TDs) returns to the backfield. Senior Shaun Feldeisen (33 catches, 2 TDs) is the top returning receiver. And the defense, ranked 19th in Division I-A last year, returns the main core of its unit.

The Huskies’ home schedule includes Boston College (September 13), Lehigh (October 4), Akron (October 25), Western Michigan (November 1) and Rutgers (November 8).

Getting to Rentschler Field is easy – take I-84 East to Exit 58. Take a right off the exit and the next left onto Silver Land.

The parking lot is less than a mile up on the right.