Indiana University Athletics
AstroPlay Update
7/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 29, 2003
The excitement of Indiana football is right around the corner, and this year will mark the debut of AstroPlay as the field surface at Memorial Stadium. The new AstroPlay is a state-of-the art surface that was provided thanks to gifted money.
AstroPlay fields look and play like optimum grass fields, yet they offer even more advantages: all-weather performance, durability and safety. The surface is tufted polyethylene fibers with a rubber in-fill on top of a pad.
"This is a terrific addition for our program. A lot of time and research went into our decision to make a change and we determined that this change is in the best interest of our student-athletes," Head Coach Gerry DiNardo said. "In addition to having a state-of-the-art competition surface, this will allow us to have the ability to add another practice field into our rotation without damaging the gameday field. We are often practicing into the early evening and lighting has become an issue. Now we will have a lighted field to use for practice."
As of July 29, the installation of the field is about half complete, with workers currently laying down the turf over a base of small rocks ranging from a quarter-inch to three quarters of an inch in size. This is the first step in a three-step process. Once the turf is in place, the seams will all be glued together before workers begin spreading layers of crumb rubber throughout the field to make it soft and make it more forgiving upon impact. Over 300,000 pounds of the crumb rubber will be brushed in during the project's final stage. The project is expected to be completed by the start of football practice in early August.
"We visited a number of schools and many schools are faced with the same space problems that we are faced with," special assistant to the athletic director and former IU head football coach Bill Mallory said. "I totally agree with Coach DiNardo on this decision and am very excited about the change. We will be able to put Memorial Stadium to good use. I spoke with both of my sons, who coach at Illinois and Oklahoma State, and their head coaches, and they could not say enough good things about the playing surface. I also spoke with a trainer at one of the schools and he said that he saw injuries decrease by 30 percent with the installation of the turf surface. This was a decision that we spent a lot of time researching and one that I am very excited about."
All of the markings for the field will be permanent, with marks in both endzones and at midfield. One endzone will have the word "Indiana" in it, with the other having the word "Hoosiers". The midfield mark will be similar to the mark at center court of the Assembly Hall hardwood. The only difference between the two will be that the state of Indiana will be painted crimson with a white outline and white IU logo on the football field, as opposed to basketball's white state of Indiana with a crimson outline and crimson IU logo. There will be no other marks on the field.
The Hoosiers will take the field for the first time on September 13 when they host in-state foe Indiana State in week three of the season in the home opener. Tickets are available by calling the Indiana ticket office toll-free at 1-866-IUHOOSIERS. Each game in the 2003 home schedule is of interest to Indiana fans, as long-time rival Kentucky visits on September 20. Homecoming is set for October 11, when Northwestern comes calling. Defending national champion Ohio State visits Memorial Stadium on October 25 before the Hoosiers square off against their two closest Big Ten rivals in Illinois and Purdue, who visit Bloomington on November 8 and November 22, respectively.
Indiana will be one of five Big Ten schools playing on turf fields in 2003, joining Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
