Babson College Athletic Windscreen Makeover

Introduction

Babson College wanted to improve the appearance of its athletic facilities without waiting for future capital projects or committing to a major renovation.

The athletic department needed a practical way to modernize multiple venues, create a more consistent campus identity, and showcase Beaver pride across several sports. The solution also had to make efficient use of the available facilities budget while minimizing disruption to games, practices, and daily operations.

Babson College partnered with BIGSIGNS to enhance five athletic venues with Dura-Mesh™ Printed Vinyl Mesh Athletic Windscreen. The coordinated fence graphics transformed plain chain-link fencing into vibrant branding surfaces, giving baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis facilities a more polished and professional appearance.

Ready to elevate your athletic facilities? Request a FREE Quote & Mock-Up and discover how BIGSIGNS can transform your venue with custom facility branding.

The Challenge

Babson College had long-term plans for broader campus and athletic facility improvements, including new buildings. Those projects, however, would require significant time and investment.

The athletic department wanted to make a visible impact in the meantime.

Existing chain-link fencing served an important functional purpose around each venue, but it did little to reinforce the Babson Beavers identity or create a consistent game-day atmosphere. Because the facilities supported different sports and occupied separate areas of campus, the overall athletic environment lacked a unified visual system.

The college’s primary goals included:

  • Modernizing the appearance of existing athletic venues

  • Creating consistent branding across multiple facilities

  • Highlighting the Babson College name, colors, and Beaver logo

  • Improving the experience for athletes, fans, alumni, and visitors

  • Maximizing a limited facility-improvement budget

  • Completing meaningful upgrades without major construction

The scale of the initiative added another layer of complexity. This was not a single-fence project. Babson College wanted to improve five distinct athletic facilities, each with its own dimensions, viewing conditions, fence configurations, and spectator needs.

The branding also needed to coordinate with future improvements, including graphics planned for the weight room. Rather than treating each venue as a separate project, the college wanted a broader identity that could carry across outdoor and indoor athletic spaces.

The BIGSIGNS Solution

Babson College worked closely with the BIGSIGNS creative team to develop a coordinated athletic facility branding program centered on Dura-Mesh™ Printed Vinyl Mesh Athletic Windscreen.

The designs featured the Babson College name, school colors, and Beaver logo, giving each facility a clear connection to the university’s athletic identity. Although the graphics were customized for different fence layouts, the shared visual language created consistency across campus.

The project included athletic windscreen for:

  • Baseball field

  • Softball field

  • Soccer field

  • Lacrosse and field hockey complex

  • Tennis courts

The windscreen transformed exposed chain-link fencing into a prominent branding feature without requiring significant structural changes. By using existing perimeter surfaces, Babson College was able to improve several facilities while preserving its budget for future capital projects.

The creative process also considered branding planned for the weight room. This helped ensure the outdoor fence graphics would complement future interior improvements rather than create a disconnected collection of designs.

Josh MacArthur, Director of Athletics and Recreation, explained the importance of that consistency:

“We wanted to create a consistent look with the windscreens and future graphics. BIGSIGNS understood exactly the concept we were looking for.”

BIGSIGNS served as Babson College’s facility-branding partner, providing custom design and printed athletic graphics. The company enhanced the existing venues but did not construct or renovate the athletic facilities themselves.

Products Used

  • Dura-Mesh™ Printed Vinyl Mesh Athletic Windscreen

  • Custom Athletic Fence Graphics

  • Custom School Logo Graphics

Project Highlights

  • Five athletic facilities enhanced through one coordinated branding initiative

  • Baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis venues

  • Custom Babson College colors, name, and Beaver logo

  • Branded perimeter fencing across multiple areas of campus

  • Consistent visual direction created for future athletic graphics

  • Improved appearance without major construction

  • Cost-conscious facility enhancement strategy

  • Installation planning based on measurements, sightlines, and spectator use

The Results

The completed Dura-Mesh™ Athletic Windscreen immediately elevated the appearance of Babson College’s athletic facilities.

Plain chain-link fencing became a series of bold visual surfaces that welcomed athletes and visitors with consistent Beaver branding. The custom graphics helped each facility feel more intentional and connected to the quality of the college’s athletic programs.

The improvement was visible across multiple audiences.

Student-athletes gained more professional-looking places to train and compete. Coaches could bring recruits into venues that communicated greater pride and attention to detail. Alumni and fans experienced a more coordinated game-day environment, while campus visitors encountered stronger Babson branding throughout the athletic areas.

Because the windscreen was installed across five facilities, the impact extended beyond one sport or one season. Baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis all benefited from the broader visual transformation.

The project also demonstrated the value of using existing facility surfaces strategically.

Babson College did not need to wait for new buildings or undertake an extensive renovation to improve the appearance of its venues. By turning perimeter fences into branding assets, the athletic department achieved a substantial visual change while working within its broader facility plans.

The result was a more unified athletic campus that supported school pride, recruiting, fan experience, and long-term branding goals.

Lessons Learned

Start With a Campus-Wide Branding Vision

Projects involving multiple athletic facilities are most successful when they begin with one clear visual direction.

Babson College developed a coordinated look using consistent colors, logos, and messaging. That approach allowed each venue to retain its individual function while still feeling like part of the same athletic department.

Schools should establish brand standards before designing individual fence panels, banners, or wall graphics. This makes it easier to expand the program into additional facilities later.

Use Accurate Fence Measurements

Precise measurements are essential for producing windscreen panels that fit professionally.

A tape measure generally provides more reliable dimensions than a measuring wheel, particularly when fences include gates, posts, corners, grade changes, or irregular panel lengths.

Every fence section should be measured separately. Schools should also document post spacing, gate locations, obstructions, and any areas that should remain uncovered.

Accurate information gives the design and production teams a stronger foundation and reduces the risk of fit issues during installation.

Plan for Both Sides of the Fence

Some fences are visible primarily from inside the venue, while others are viewed from several directions.

Schools should consider how athletes, fans, pedestrians, motorists, and campus visitors approach each fence. If both sides are highly visible, the project may require a different graphic strategy than a fence viewed mainly from one direction.

The intended viewing experience should be determined before artwork and production decisions are finalized.

Protect Important Spectator Sightlines

Athletic windscreen can improve a venue’s appearance, but it should not interfere with established viewing areas.

At baseball and softball facilities, spectators may traditionally watch from behind outfield or perimeter fencing. Soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis venues may also have informal viewing locations outside the primary seating area.

Designated openings can preserve those sightlines while allowing the remaining fence space to support branding.

Consider Every Sport Using the Facility

The lacrosse and field hockey complex served more than one program, making broader institutional branding especially valuable.

At shared venues, graphics should be developed with all users in mind. School-focused designs can create a strong identity without making one team feel secondary unless sport-specific branding is intentionally planned for different seasons or areas.

This approach can improve long-term value by keeping the graphics relevant across multiple programs and events.

Coordinate Present Improvements With Future Projects

Babson College was also considering graphics inside its weight room.

By planning the windscreen and future graphics around a consistent theme, the athletic department created a foundation for continued facility branding. This reduced the risk of disconnected styles and helped future projects build on the visual progress already made.

A phased branding plan can be especially valuable for schools working within annual budgets or long-range capital schedules.

Focus on Strategic Improvements, Not Only Major Renovations

Large construction projects can transform facilities, but they are not the only path to meaningful improvement.

Babson College demonstrated how custom athletic fence graphics can deliver a substantial visual return by maximizing existing infrastructure. Schools can often make high-impact changes by prioritizing the most visible surfaces and developing a coordinated branding plan around them.

Why Dura-Mesh™ Printed Vinyl Mesh Athletic Windscreen?

Chain-link fencing is common at athletic venues, but it does not have to remain visually plain.

Dura-Mesh™ Printed Vinyl Mesh Athletic Windscreen turns perimeter fencing into a custom branding surface that can improve the appearance and identity of a single field or an entire athletic campus.

It is an effective solution for organizations that want to:

  • Display school colors, logos, mascots, and program messaging

  • Improve the appearance of exposed chain-link fencing

  • Create consistent branding across multiple sports

  • Establish a more professional game-day environment

  • Strengthen school pride and mascot recognition

  • Improve recruiting and campus-tour presentation

  • Create opportunities for sponsor recognition

  • Maximize existing surfaces without major construction

  • Support phased athletic facility improvement plans

The mesh format permits airflow through the material, making it appropriate for many outdoor athletic environments. Custom manufacturing also allows the windscreen to be planned around the dimensions and layout of each fence.

Dura-Mesh™ can support baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis, football, and other outdoor facilities. The design can be adapted for individual teams or developed around a broader school identity for multisport use.

For Babson College, the greatest advantage was the ability to create a consistent transformation across five venues. The result was not simply a collection of printed fence panels. It was a connected athletic branding program that helped the entire campus feel more polished and unified.

Why BIGSIGNS?

BIGSIGNS helps colleges, schools, athletic departments, parks, and sports organizations transform existing facilities through custom graphics and coordinated branding.

Each project combines award-winning design, custom manufacturing, premium materials, nationwide experience, facility-branding expertise, collaborative design support, and high-quality customer service.

BIGSIGNS works with customers to evaluate available surfaces, understand viewing conditions, coordinate multiple venues, and build graphics around both immediate priorities and long-term facility plans.

At Babson College, that collaborative approach helped turn five separate athletic venues into a more consistent expression of Beaver pride.

Ready to Transform Your Athletic Facilities?

You do not need to wait for a major renovation to create a more professional athletic environment.

Request a FREE Mock-Up today and see how Dura-Mesh™ Printed Vinyl Mesh Athletic Windscreen can transform your baseball field, softball complex, soccer venue, tennis courts, or entire athletic campus with custom branding designed for your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can athletic windscreen be customized for different sports?

Yes. Designs can be developed for individual programs or built around a broader school identity that works across several sports and shared facilities.

How should an athletic fence be measured?

Measure each fence section carefully with a tape measure and document posts, gates, corners, grade changes, obstructions, and areas that should remain open. Accurate measurements help ensure a better fit.

Can spectators see through athletic windscreen?

Mesh windscreen provides some visibility and airflow, but it can affect sightlines. Facilities should identify important spectator viewing areas and plan openings where necessary.

Can Dura-Mesh™ Athletic Windscreen include sponsor graphics?

Yes. Approved sponsor logos and recognition messages can be incorporated into the custom design when appropriate for the facility and organization.

Is athletic windscreen useful for phased facility improvements?

Yes. Schools can begin with one high-visibility venue or create a coordinated rollout across several facilities as budgets and schedules allow.