Kermit A. Johnson Field at Bob Riesener Stadium

EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN

The University of Montevallo baseball team has called Kermit A. Johnson Field at Bob Riesener Stadium their home since becoming an intercollegiate athletic program in 1956.

Located just off the main campus in what was previously a farm and cotton field, Kermit A. Johnson Field at Bob Riesner Stadium is a picturesque facility, rising above Shoal Creek, and facing the scenic UM campus.

Prior to the start of the 2017 season, a brand new locker room was built for the student-athletes, one of the nicest baseball locker rooms in all of NCAA DII. In 2015, a new backstop was upgraded, with netting stretched from dugout to dugout to protect fans. In 2014, a new scoreboard and brick pillars were added. In 2013, a new restroom, concessions and umpire locker rooms were added. In 2012, a new lighted and covered outdoor hitting facility was built. Changes in the spring of 2005 included the installation of brick walls lining the left and right field lines from the dugouts to the outfield corners, fencing to enclose the home bullpen area.

The grandstand includes 144 permanent chair-back seats and additional bleacher seating on two wings for a capacity of approximately 450. The grandstand also includes a wheelchair access ramp on the first base side. The large press box contains phone lines for home and visiting radio as well as wireless internet access. The project received a significant financial contribution of $ 25,000 from Woodgrain Millwork Inc., who has a distribution center in Montevallo. Additional individuals and corporations provided financial support for the construction of the seating and press box, completed in April 2007.

This "Home of the Falcons" was the first facility to see intercollegiate athletics at UM after the school admitted male students in 1956. The Falcons lost their inaugural game, 23-1 to Howard College (now Samford University), but have since built a reputation for playing aggressive and entertaining baseball at home.

The field is named in honor of former UM President Kermit Johnson, who served 10 years as the school's president, and was dedicated on April 6, 1981. Johnson became the 10th president of the University of Montevallo in 1968, coming to UM from the Jefferson County Board of Education, where he had been superintendent since 1959. Born in Boaz, Johnson attended Jacksonville State Teachers College (now Jacksonville State University). He went from earning $ 75 a month in his first teaching job, to becoming one of the most respected names in Alabama Higher Education.

The stadium is named in honor of former baseball coach, athletic director and Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Riesener. On November 2, 2018, the Board of Trustees passed a recommendation from Vice President of Advancement, Scott Dillard, to rename the baseball stadium for former baseball coach, Bob Riesener.
During his 30-year tenure at the University of Montevallo, Coach Riesener left an indelible mark on the athletics department. A 1990 UM Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Riesener came to the UM Athletic Department in 1973 as head baseball coach. He has been Falcon Club Director and has raised over $2 million for scholarships and capital projects. He also served as Associate Athletic Director at Montevallo from 1991-1995 and was appointed to the directorship in April of 1995. He was inducted into the NAIA Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. Through 1997, his teams garnered well over 850 wins, have won seven district championships, sent over 20 players to professional baseball and 22 have attained All-American honors. His proudest achievement is the fact that over 90 percent of his players who have finished their eligibility, have graduated. Riesener finished with a collegiate baseball coaching record of 1,045-704, including a 934-670 mark as head coach at Montevallo.

The dimensions of Kermit A. Johnson Field at Bob Riesener Stadium are 325 down the left field line, 350 to left and right center fields, 380 to center field, and 330 down the right field line.

In the fall of 2023, turf was added to the bullpen, home plate and backstop areas.