Although no physical reminders of the field's usage for intercollegiate athletics remain, it continues to be used as a gathering place and for general recreation.

A dedicated athletic field was not part of the original plans for the Kent State Normal School, established in 1910.

The first classes were held at the Kent campus in 1913 and intramural and informal athletic teams were formed that year and in early 1914.

As a result, athletic facilities were not included in the original plans for the school and attempts to acquire funds from the state to construct them were initially unsuccessful.

Baseball games were held on an informal field in the area of campus now largely occupied by Rockwell Hall.

Early yearbooks expressed hope for better facilities and the reality that the lack of them hampered the development of intercollegiate athletics.

Early games were held across town at DePeyster Field, the new home of crosstown rival Kent High School.

The university, then still a normal school, first attempted to establish a football team in 1914, but only two practice games were held before the athletic board and faculty voted to discontinue the season.

[5] The final intercollegiate football game at Rockwell Field was played October 12, 1940, a 26–0 homecoming win over Mount Union, attended by a reported crowd of approximately 5,000.

Prefabricated structures were built on the western end of the area after World War II, including the building that later housed the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).

Roads and parking built for the adjacent heating plant and the Art Building occupy the southwestern part of the field area.