Army West Point Athletics
Tronsrue Marksmanship Center
Enhanced state-of-the-art facilities have significantly benefited Army’s 25 intercollegiate Corps Squad programs.
The prominent rise of the rifle team as a top program in the nation, capturing is first NCAA title in the spring of 2005, is in large part due to the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center, completed in January 2000. The range underwent major reconstruction after a portion of the facility was destroyed by fire in 1996.
The indoor marksmanship center, located next to Gillis Field House along the banks of the Hudson, is equipped with three ranges, home to the NCAA Rifle program and the Pistol and Combat Weapons Teams.
The NCAA Rifle range complex is truly a world-class facility, equipped with MegaLink electronic targets which instantaneously score each shot, tally the results and broadcast the target arrays to spectators on the internet. Both the smallbore 50-ft and the 10-meter airgun range boast 20 firing points each, making it the largest range in the NCAA. The heavy caliber range on the west side of the complex is comprised of 22 firing points out to 25 yards and is open to recreational shooting through West Point FMWR.
The 10-meter range, used exclusively for air gun training and competition, is shared by both the rifle and pistol teams.
Army unveiled its newly minted Tronsrue Marksmanship Center on the national stage when it hosted the 2003 NCAA Men's and Women's Rifle Championships, marking the national championship's first appearance at West Point since 1991.
It was also the fourth time in the NCAA's 25-year rifle history that Army was chosen as the host site. The Black Knights first hosted the tournament in 1981, the second year that the rifle championships came under the NCAA's auspices.
Four years later as the host school, Army turned in a fifth-place finish, putting the touches on an 11-2 season. The NCAA Championships returned to West Point in 1991, and the Black Knights turned in a sixth-place finish competing in air rifle.
Tronsrue took center stage again in 2004 when it hosted the Great America Rifle Championships with the Black Knights placing second.
Funding for the reconstruction and renovation of the range was included in West Point's Bicentennial Campaign plan as part of its "Margin of Excellence" initiative. Government funds were utilized along with private funds. The lead donors for the project were George Marion Tronsrue III (USMA '78) and Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Petrie (USMA '67).
On April 13, 2000, the center was dedicated to honor the American solider and Tronsrue's father (George Marion Tronsrue Jr., USMA '52), a four-year member of the Army rifle team.
Margin of Excellence upgrades continue to this day. Most notably, the new air handling system, epoxy floor coatings and LED lighting array were added in 2016-18 and from 2019-21, new spectator monitors were added throughout the venue.
Cadets compete in Tronsrue Marksmanship Center from August to April. In the down time, the Army Rifle staff hosts elite camps for junior and high school-aged athletes, honing their shooting skills for Olympic and NCAA ambitions.