CARROLL COLLEGE AND SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY WILL PLAY FOR THE NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ON ASTROTURF

(ROME, Georgia) - The combatants for the 2011 NAIA National Championship football game are set to play on the AstroTurf at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia.

Defending champion and six-time national champion Carroll College will take on Saint Xavier University, which is making its first-ever national championship game appearance.

“We’re excited about these two great programs competing for the national championship,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf. “The AstroTurf field at Barron Stadium is one of the finest in the country and a major reason the NAIA has chosen to host the championship game in Rome through 2015.”

The Fighting Saints of Carroll College, a Helena, Montana school, are looking to tie Texas A&I for the most national championships in NAIA history. Carroll won four straight titles from 2002-2005, as well as in 2007 and again in last year’s game in Rome.

In the semi-final game, the Saints racked up 447 yards of total offense and converted on nine-of-14 third-down attempts in defeating previously unbeaten Georgetown (Kentucky) 35-3. The Carroll College defense has not given up a second half score in four games.

Saint Xavier, from Chicago, beat top-ranked Marian University 30-27 in the semi-finals. Freshman strong safety Clayton Fejedelem intercepted a pass in the end zone with eight seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Cougars.

The Russell Athletic – NAIA Football National Championship will kick off this Saturday, December 17th, at 4:30 p.m. EST in the 56th installment of the game.

The game will be broadcast in HD by the CBS Sports Network. CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video, and telecommunications providers. It is also available via satellite on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 152. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

The AstroTurf surface at Barron stadium has been credited with keeping the game in Rome after a couple of muddy games on natural grass. Barron Stadium also hosts the high school football games of the Rome Wolves, as well as numerous other events. The heavy usage sometimes made the old natural grass surface susceptible to the weather.

“The new field was really important,” said Bill Peterson, Athletic Director at Shorter University and part of the host committee. “Without the AstroTurf, I doubt that we would have been able to secure a long-term bid. With AstroTurf, the weather becomes irrelevant, even late in the year. ”

In addition, playing the game on the AstroTurf surface generates approximately $2 million per year in economic impact for the community.

The field features 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 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 field features a RootZone, a thatch layer which holds the sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.

The Horseshoe fiber was introduced in 2010 and is already in use on game fields for teams such as Kansas State University; practice fields at schools such as Stanford University, University of Tennessee, and Auburn University; baseball game fields for the Tampa Bay Rays, Wake Forest, Duke, and Ohio State; and numerous high school football fields around the country.

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 first 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 system which most closely replicates natural grass; 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.

ASTROTURF A BIG HIT LOCALLY

By Lindsey Young / Chattanooga Times Free Press


The AstroTurf® field at Ridgeland High School turns a year old in a few weeks, and though no party will be held on its behalf, head football coach Mark Mariakis would buy it a present and take it to dinner if he could.

Mariakis’ wife, Debbie, who coaches only from the stands, would chip in as well.

For the first time in recent memory, the Mariakis' took off for vacation last week without having to make arrangements for someone to take over field maintenance duties. Make that fields. With the nearly maintenance-free (AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ 3D) field in place, Mark Mariakis no longer has to spend several hours each week taking care of the main field AND practice field.

That's just one of the many reasons the veteran coach has no regrets in pushing for the installation of the synthetic field, the top of the line product from Dalton-based AstroTurf® that has become a selling point for the company. When a college, or country, inquires about purchasing a field, a trip to Rossville often follows.

“They said they would make it a showcase field and they did,” Mariakis said. “We had folks in from Boston College recently and within the past two months we've had people fly in from Europe, Australia and Sweden. I knew the field would be a major improvement, but I it's been better than we could ever expect.”

Walker County neighbor Gordon Lee will have an AstroTurf®-installed field ready for the 2011 season, joining Ridgeland, Calhoun, Baylor and McCallie as Chattanooga-area high schools with synthetic fields. To a person, those who have the fields find it difficult to find anything negative to say about them.

“When people hear you're going to spend half-a-million dollars on a field, especially in this economy, it draws some concern,” Calhoun coach and athletic director Hal Lamb said. “But it has been more than worth it with us. Our field had terrible drainage problems and it was often unusable after it rained. We don't have to worry about that any longer and we don't have to have a practice field.”

Two other factors play into the fields' feasibility: schools actually save thousands of dollars each season on field maintenance and the fields can be used much more often than grass fields.

“For what it does for this school and community, it's irreplaceable,” said Mariakis, whose field, like Calhoun's, was a drainage nightmare. “Not only does it give us a great surface to play on, we also have a lined practice field that makes our practices so much cleaner and sharper.

“Also, it's getting used. We can play junior varsity and middle school games on it. The band practices on it and our soccer teams finally had some home games and nearly every Saturday our recreational program uses it. Those are priceless moments for kids to get to play on that field and you can see it in their eyes.”

Mariakis says the school system was spending several thousands of dollars each year to water, fertilize, mow, edge and line. “All that for a field used at most 10 times a year,” he said.

Baylor had its turf installed before the 2009 season and head coach Phil Massey, like Mariakis and Lamb, did so out of necessity. Massey also acknowledges that there is no gauging how much the peace of mind knowing the field will always be playable is worth.

“With playing lacrosse and middle school football there, it had gotten too tough trying to maintain the grass,” he said. “It's been a great investment for us and the kids seem to like it. It's pretty soft. You can still get a little bit of a carpet burn, but its nothing like the old [artificial] surfaces from the 1980s and early 1990s. Its a good cushion for the legs, you don't get the pounding and injuries. We do all our agility work on the field.”

AstroTurf®'s Todd Britton, who is also a veteran football official in northwest Georgia, estimates a typical grass field costs anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 annually to maintain, making the decision to install the synthetic fields easier for even cash-strapped communities.

“When you consider a field takes between a half-million and a million gallons of water each year to go along with fertilizer and pesticides and gas for mowing, it all adds up,” said Britton, who recently returned from Tampa, where AstroTurf® installed the new Rays' field. “In the long run, even when you have to replace the field one time [in approximately 10 years at an estimated one-fifth of the original cost], they pay for themselves.”

There are even fields that make money right away. Rome's Barron Stadium is the annual host of the NAIA Football Championship, but because of its poor playing surface the NAIA was seeking alternative sites for the game, something that would have cost the Rome area a good deal of money.

An AstroTurf® field was installed and the NAIA and Rome officials recently signed an extension to keep the game at Barron through 2015.

Football fields are still the most popular form of synthetic fields due to the heavier wear and tear of football and soccer, but Britton says baseball fields are quickly gaining, due in large part to the larger number of times each year a baseball field is used. McCallie had an AstroTurf® Extreme surface installed in its baseball infield last year.

“Baseball is huge right now,” Britton said. “We've done a number of college fields, including Duke, Wake Forest and Kansas, and we're doing Ohio State soon. We're the official turf of Major League Baseball. I expect more high schools to get [synthetic] baseball fields in the coming years.”

More will definitely go the synthetic route in football, likely beginning with Ringgold as it rebuilds its stadium after it was heavily damaged by April's tornado. And, as usual, Mark Mariakis will continue to sing his field's praises, especially when allowed to spend a carefree week away on vacation.

“Man, the hours you don't have to spend working on the field are priceless,” he beamed. “At this time of the year we would be cutting four times a week, applying fertilizer and always, always edging it. I don't miss it.”

The coach did, however, come up with a negative to having his one-year-old field.

“There is something I've thought about,” he smiled. “The younger kids coming up in our system probably won't understand how good they've got it.”

SCHOOLS WITH NEW ASTROTURF® FIELDS KICK OFF SEASON WITH VICTORIES

For several high schools around the country, this past weekend was special for a few reasons.

First, it marked the first game of the 2010 season. Second, it marked the opening game on brand new, state-of-the-art AstroTurf® fields. Finally, it was all topped off with a victory celebration.

“It’s great to see these schools come out victorious,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®. “They made a commitment to install the finest playing surface on the planet, and it looks like they’ve also made a commitment to win.”

Baltimore area private school Calvert Hall College High School kicked it all off at Kelly Field with a victory over St. John’s D.C. 24-7. Calvert Hall was one of the first schools in the Baltimore area to have a synthetic turf field, but recently replaced the older surface thanks to a generous donation from Senator Francis X. Kelly.

In Missouri, Lee’s Summit West High School was victorious on the AstroTurf® in their first game. The Titans defeated Raymore-Peculiar by a score of 21-13.

Lovejoy High School christened the new field at Tara Stadium in Jonesboro, Georgia, with a victory over Mundy’s Mill by a score of 27-0.

Following a true test against a tough opponent, Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska chalked up a victory. In a double-overtime thriller, the Thunderbolts completed a two-yard pass to defeat Omaha Gross 14-7.

Ridgeland High School in Rossville, Georgia, dedicated their new field Friday night with great expectations for the winners of two consecutive region championships. Down 19-16 to Adairsville, with a little over four minutes to play, the Panthers converted two touchdowns to come back and win 30-19.

Rome High School, another Georgia school now playing on AstroTurf®, opened on a new field with a new coach against a new high school and came out on top over John’s Creek High School 10-0.

Troy High School in Michigan cruised to an easy win over Romeo by a score of 31-7. Another Troy school, Troy Athens High School won its first home game in two years by defeating Warren Mott 31-19.

This weekend will mark even more debut games for schools with new AstroTurf® fields and, hopefully, they will all come away with a big win.

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 Root Zone®, 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.