(MANHATTAN, Kansas) - Bill Snyder and the Kansas State Wildcats are on a quest for greatness. This year, that quest will play out on the greatest synthetic surface in the world of sports.
The Wildcats recently announced that they have selected AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ 3D60H to replace the current turf at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Construction of the new field will be guided by Mid-America Golf and Landscape of Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
“We are pleased to have a new field,” said Head Coach Bill Snyder. “The AstroTurf® people have been very responsive to our needs and were able to provide us with what we wanted in a very timely manner.”
The new AstroTurf® system provides several benefits for the growing Wildcat football program that led to the choice.
“After looking at numerous options, we felt AstroTurf® and its GameDay Grass™ 3D60H system was the best choice for us at K-State," said Associate Head Coach and Director of Football Operations, Sean Snyder. "Some of the top professional and collegiate stadiums and practice facilities in the country utilize this surface and we are excited about becoming the first FBS football program to install GameDay Grass™ 3D60H in its stadium. The fibers and technologies used by AstroTurf® will provide our student-athletes with a state-of-the art product that focuses on player performance and safety.”
The field will feature the revolutionary new Horseshoe™ fiber. This new fiber is enjoying unprecedented success in the sports field marketplace, due to factors such as its unique shape. The fiber is an “Omega” shape with two end columns with a thicker diameter. The design imparts mechanical memory so that the fiber remains upright longer, unlike other fields whose fibers quickly flatten and split or shred at the spine. The Horseshoe™ fiber continues to spring back to its original configuration, even after years of heavy foot traffic or exposure to ultra-violet radiation.
The field also has a face weight of 60 ounces of fiber per square yard, the highest in the industry. This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape.
In extensive testing, the Horseshoe® fiber performs most like natural grass from ball roll, to slide
resistance, to the biomechanical function of cleats penetrating and releasing properly. A study at Michigan State University, funded by NFL Charities, found that AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ systems looked and performed more like natural grass than any other synthetic product measured, also making it the safest option.
The Horseshoe® fiber’s shape also allows it to reflect light and heat away from the surface. That, in combination with AstroFlect™ heat reduction technology, can lower surface temperatures by as much as 18%.
The Horseshoe™ fiber was introduced in 2010 and is already in use on practice fields at schools such as Stanford and the University of Tennessee; baseball game fields for the Tampa Bay Rays, Wake Forest, Duke, and Kansas; and numerous high school football fields around the country.
“We can’t wait for the team to get to play on this new AstroTurf® surface,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®. “This state-of-the-art field and the program that has been developing at Kansas State over the past few years is going to be a great combination, making the Wildcats a perennial threat in the Big 12 and the BCS.”
Since 1993, Kansas State University has won 141 games and is one of only two teams in the nation to win 11 games six times in a seven-year stretch. Snyder engineered the turnaround of the Kansas State football program, where he coached from 1989 until he retired in 2005. He returned to the helm of the program in 2009. His 149 victories are more that his 11 predecessors combined from 1935-1988. Snyder is a six-time national Coach of the Year award winner.
This year, the Wildcats will kick off their football campaign with their first game on the new AstroTurf® at home versus Eastern Kentucky on September 3. They will also face some stiff competition on the AstroTurf®, with home games against Kent State (September 17), Baylor (October 1), Missouri (October 8), Oklahoma (October 29), Texas A&M (November 12), and Iowa State (November 26).
About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. The company offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging the industry’s only vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority and safety. Recent innovations from AstroTurf® include GameDay Grass™ 3D with RootZone®, a polyethylene/nylon hybrid system which most closely replicates natural grass; TurfAide™, a non-chemical antimicrobial shield protecting against MRSA and other infectious bacteria; and AstroFlect™ Technology which significantly reduces turf surface temperatures. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.
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