State High School Football Finals Slated For Rentschler Field, CCSU

EAST HARTFORD-NEW BRITAIN, CT — With the expansion of the CIAC football playoffs from four divisions into six comes a change of venues for the state championship games, with finals being scheduled at a pair of stadiums which host Div. I college programs.

All six state championship contests are slated for Saturday, Dec. 10. Games will be played at 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, as well as Arute Field at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

Locations for specific games will be announced once matchups for the championship tilts are determined, according to a written statement from the CIAC.

"The CIAC is excited to partner with Pratt & Whitney Stadium and CCSU for its 2022 football state championships,"CAS-CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini said. "CIAC has made an effort to extend the college and career goals of its member schools by providing student-athletes with an opportunity to experience playing at Connecticut’s best collegiate and professional stadiums. Partnering with Pratt & Whitney Stadium and CCSU is a natural extension of education-based interscholastic athletics. It will be a thrill for CIAC student-athletes to compete at Rentschler Field and Arute Field, where their collegiate role models from UConn and CCSU play."

Arute Field last hosted a state title game in 2014, while the last championship game at Rentschler Field was in 2012.

"We are pleased to be able to return and offer student-athletes and spectators an elevated experience," Lungarini said. "The CIAC is grateful for the dedicated schools and municipalities that hosted past CIAC football championships."

Veterans Stadium at Willow Brook Park in New Britain had served as host of at least one championship game each year since 2014, while Trumbull High School was the site of the Class LL and S title contests in 2021 and 2019; the 20202 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The staff and communities of New Britain and Trumbull have gone above and beyond to provide great lifetime memories for CIAC student-athletes," Lungarini said. "These CIAC partners have set a high standard that we are confident the staff at this year’s venues will meet."