College football is back! Before the season begins, we thought we’d round up of all the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams spend their Saturdays (and Thursday nights) on Shaw Sports Turf fields.
Some of the most high-profile teams in college football turn to Shaw Sports Turf to give them a competitive advantage in practice, in the big game and at halftime. Halftime? That’s right – even marching bands use Shaw Sports Turf.
Read to find out if your team plays on Shaw Sports Turf, and then sound off in the comments section below.
University of Arkansas
The Arkansas Razorbacks play and practice on Shaw Sports Turf. The first turf field came to Fayetteville in 2009, which serves as their game field. They loved it so much that they invested in another turf surface in 2012 to practice on, which they installed atop a parking garage. Shaw has special love for the Razorbacks, as Dr. Phil Stricklen, director of R&D for Shaw Sports Turf, hails from the university.
Georgia Tech
Coach Paul Johnson’s Yellow Jackets practice on indoor and outdoor Shaw Sports Turf fields. Elsewhere on campus, Roe Stamps Field offers students playing intramural sports a Shaw Sports Turf playing surface.
Louisiana State University
This summer, Shaw Sports Turf completed work on the Tigers’ indoor practice facility, installing 87,000 square feet of Momentum turf. The installation marks the second Shaw Sports Turf surface LSU’s football team has used in their indoor facility. In a few weeks we’ll know if that practice is paying off!
Mississippi State University
A 78,000-square foot Momentum Pro playing surface was installed this summer in the Bulldogs’ indoor practice facility. This is Shaw Sports Turf’s first installation for Dan Mullen’s football team. We’ll find out how their practice is paying off when they play a three-game stretch against SEC powerhouses LSU, Georgia and Auburn before the month of September is through.
Georgia Southern University
The Eagles play on a Shaw Sports Turf surface which features HydroChill, its patented cooling technology. Installed in Statesboro in 2016, the innovative turf has been shown to reduce surface temperatures on fields by as much as 50 degrees, something that will surely come in handy as the summer swelters on in south Georgia.
Dudley Field – Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University
The Vanderbilt Commodores, who are big fans of Shaw Sports Turf, know good things come in threes. The football team utilizes three Shaw Sports Turf surfaces: an indoor practice field, an outdoor practice field and the game field at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Bowling Green State University
The Falcons’ field in Doyt Perry Stadium was installed in 2016 and features Shaw Sports Turf’s PowerBlade Pro system, made from Shaw’s revolutionary Bolt fiber. Jim Elsasser, associate athletic director at Bowling Green called the playing surface “a high end performance field that will provide our student-athletes with a first class competitive surface.”
Colorado State University
When the Colorado State University Rams play their home opener against the Oregon State Beavers this weekend, they’ll debut their new field from Shaw Sports Turf. The Rams also practice on a second, new Shaw Sports Turf field, adjacent to the stadium. “We are thrilled with the outcome and look forward to seeing the field used in live action and on television,” said Joe Parker, CSU’s Director of Athletics.
University of Missouri
Head coach Barry Odom’s Tigers got a new practice field from Shaw Sports Turf this summer. The installation of the 63,000-square foot practice surface marks Shaw Sports Turf’s fourth indoor practice facility at an SEC school. The field could prove to be an advantage in practice as the team aims for a winning season after last year’s 4-8 record.
Virginia Tech
Since 2015, two groups of Hokies have practiced on Momentum turf – the football team and the band. Bands across the country – including Auburn (installed 2016) and University of Georgia (installed 2009) – love utilizing turf for practice because it drastically reduces need to repaint the field lines that are so crucial for a marching band’s formations.
Furman University
Although an FCS school, Furman University was the second location in the country where Shaw Sports Turf installed a field using its premium Bolt fiber. Since 2013, teams have played on Paladin Stadium’s 108,000-square foot PowerBlade Bolt turf playing surface.
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Southern Methodist University
The Perunas installed nearly 110,000 square feet of PowerBlade Pro for a game field in 2016. “SMU was a great project done in tandem with Paragon Sports Constructors,” said Todd Britton, director of marketing for Shaw Sports Turf. “Their expertise in field and stadium projects is unmatched in the state of Texas.”
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas Mean Green’s game field was installed by Shaw Sports Turf in 2011. The field features nearly 97,000 square feet of the PowerBlade XP turf system.
Coastal Carolina
Since 2015, the Chanticleers have played on 104,000 square feet of PowerBlade HP turf. The Myrtle Beach, SC school has the only teal turf field in the country, which they’ve affectionately nicknamed ‘Surf Turf.’ “When the decision to install an artificial turf field was made, it only made sense that the turf be teal,” said Coastal Carolina’s director of athletics, Matt Hogue. Of note, the women’s lacrosse team also competes on the playing surface due to its dependability and versatility.
Middle Tennessee State University
During the summer of 2014, Shaw Sports Turf installed a new synthetic surface to replace the Blue Raiders’ existing game field. The surface is made of Legion 46 turf, which combines a high-performance monofilament fiber with a durable slit film fiber to provide a soft and resilient playing surface.
Shaw Sports Turf has installed more than 2,500 playing fields across the country for a variety of sports teams – and marching bands! To learn more, visit shawsportsturf.com