Hotchkiss Field - Gallaudet Bison

Photos by Gregory Koch, Stadium Journey

Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 4.00

Hotchkiss Field

800 Florida Avenue NE Washington, DC 20002

Gallaudet Bison website

Hotchkiss Field website

Year Opened: 2008

Capacity: 1,500

Bisons Of DC

Gallaudet University was founded in 1864 in Washington, D.C. as the only college in the United States exclusively for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Since then, it has grown to almost 2,000 students. Gallaudet’s athletic teams, known as the Bison, compete in the NCAA at the Division III level. Most of Gallaudet's athletic teams compete in the United East conference, but as the UEC does not sponsor football, the Bison compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) for that sport.

Hotchkiss Field on the Gallaudet campus is home to the Bisons' football program. It was here at Gallaudet that the football huddle was invented in 1894. The Bison were playing another deaf team and were concerned that they would see the play calls in American Sign Language (ASL) - an early instance of sign stealing in sports. So quarterback Paul Hubbard gathered the team in a tight circle around him, preventing the other team from seeing anything and giving birth to the modern-day huddle.

Over a century later, this small Division III school continues to be a source of innovation in college football. In response to a much more modern version of sign stealing, the NCAA recently allowed one player per team on each side of the ball to have a microphone in their helmet to communicate play calls from the sideline. However, since Gallaudet players are unable to make use of audible playcalling, the school worked with AT&T to develop a 5G helmet that displays the play call visibly to the quarterback.

Food & Beverage 4

Concessions are sold out of a truck at Hotchkiss Field, located to the right of the bleachers, directly in front of you as you come in from the parking lot. As you are walking in, you will notice the smell of freshly grilled burgers and hot dogs, and smoke wafting off a grill.

That's right - they grill the food hot and fresh here, no prepackaged stuff sitting in warmers for ages. Cheeseburgers, hamburgers, impossible burgers, veggie burgers, and hot dogs are all available here, with none of them costing more than $5. Assorted sodas, Gatorade, candy, and chips are also available for purchase.

Being that this is Gallaudet, all of the concession workers are fluent in ASL, but many of them are deaf. There is a whiteboard you can write your order on if necessary. If you order a grill item, they will give you a ticket, which you then take to the grill itself to pick up your order.

Atmosphere 3

Seeing as Gallaudet is a college exclusively for deaf or hard-of-hearing students, the atmosphere here is certainly unique. The basic layout of the stadium is pretty standard for Division III, however. There are some metal bleachers on one side of the field, which are general admission and rarely fill up except possibly on homecoming. A scoreboard is located behind one end zone and shows some standard basic information.

There is no public address system at Hotchkiss Field, which would be shocking at any other college but is perfectly reasonable here. You can usually figure out what is going on in the field from the standard signals made by the referees. Before each game, the national anthem is performed in ASL rather than sung, and the cheerleaders incorporate sign language into their cheers. They will often make the sign for "applause", and the fans will oblige by clapping or making the ASL sign themselves.

The Bison keep a large base drum on their sideline, which they use to signal to the players, who can feel the vibrations in the field. It is harder to feel the vibrations in the stands, but that may simply be because hearing fans are not as attuned to such things.

There is no mascot here, and unsurprisingly, there is no band either. No music is played pregame, so hearing fans can hear the sounds of the visiting team warming up and the coaches calling to the players, although at the game we attended, the away team brought their own boombox to play music during warmups.

Neighborhood 5

Gallaudet is located in the NoMa neighborhood of Washington, D.C., which stands for “North of Massachusetts Avenue.” Although this wasn’t always the nicest neighborhood, it has improved a lot in the last few years and is perfectly safe. The main attraction in the neighborhood is Union Market, located a short walk away from campus, which is an indoor market featuring a wide variety of food stands. Just about anything you can imagine is offered, ranging from arepas to pizza to Korean tacos to Ethiopian food to an old-fashioned New York-style soda shop.

There are also many other attractions throughout D.C., including many monuments, memorials, and museums. All of the government-run attractions are free, though some of the private ones are not. Just keep in mind if you want to tour the White House or Capitol, you will need to book in advance.

Fans 4

Gallaudet averages a few hundred fans to a typical home game, with homecoming often drawing over a thousand. For the Division III level, this is a decent crowd. Many of them are friends or family of the players or are alumni of Gallaudet, and many are deaf or hard of hearing themselves. They will still clap after big plays, but for understandable reasons, there is far less shouting and vocal cheering than at other schools.

Access 5

Gallaudet is far enough away from downtown D.C. that driving is relatively easy. There is a lot and a garage located behind the Field House next door to Hotchkiss Field, where fans can park for free. If this fills up (which typically only happens on homecoming), staff will direct fans to other lots and garages on campus, which will be a bit of a longer walk. The NoMa-Gallaudet stop on Metro’s Red Line is a short walk away as well.

Unsurprisingly, Hotchkiss Field is easily accessible to fans who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as to those who are not. All arena staff are fluent in ASL, and many are fluent in spoken English as well. As noted above, the concession stand has a whiteboard to allow fans who don't know ASL to communicate with deaf workers there.

Restrooms are available in the Jordan Academic Center behind the bleachers, across a small street that is closed to vehicular traffic on gamedays, so you should have no trouble crossing it. There is also a single-person handicap-accessible restroom directly under the bleachers.

Return on Investment 5

Tickets are just $12 each for adults, with discounts for youth and seniors. Parking in the lots is free, and concessions are extremely affordable here. Overall, a Gallaudet football game is an excellent value. Note that tickets must be purchased through the Hometown Ticketing app and displayed on your phone. If you do not buy them in advance, there is a QR code to scan at the gate.

Extras 2

There is a giant bison statue outside the Field House, honoring Gallaudet’s nickname, which you will pass on your way to the stadium. A second star for the large base drum on the Gallaudet sideline.

Final Thoughts

A visit to Gallaudet football is certainly a unique experience. Whether it’s the ASL announcements and anthem before the game, fans applauding in sign language, or just the unique experience caused by a game with no announcements, music, or any other form of PA, all college football fans, regardless of ability, will have a good time here. When combined with the unique historical contributions Gallaudet has made to the game of football, it is well worth making the trip to Hotchkiss Field to see a game.