Northwestern Football’s Strong Start at New Ryan Field Is Playing Out on FieldTurf Trico

Ryan Sports Development and Northwestern Football made FieldTurf the surface of choice for the Wildcats’ state-of-the-art stadium

The Northwestern Wildcats have made the most of their move into New Ryan Field—the design and development of which was led by Ryan Sports Development—already winning the first two games at the stadium. A key component of the venue, the first NFL-type stadium in college football, is its chosen playing surface: an artificial turf system from FieldTurf by Tarkett Sports, designed for player safety, performance, and consistency to support the highest levels of competition.

FieldTurf’s involvement builds on a more than 20-year relationship that began in 2005 with one of Northwestern’s football practice fields. Additional FieldTurf surface installations in the years since have continued to benefit Wildcat athletes across a variety of sports.

New Ryan Field, now taking its place among the country’s top athletic venues, leverages the new FieldTurf Trico system. The elite surfacing solution demonstrates a commitment to innovation and design that prioritizes durability and high-performance traction.

Northwestern, which competes in the Big Ten Conference, christened the stadium on Friday, October 2, with a win over Penn State. The Wildcats then earned a homecoming-game victory over Ball State. The next day, the team, now 2-0 at their new home, debuted in the AP Top 25 poll at No. 25 — the program’s first appearance in the rankings since the end of the 2020 season. A subsequent win against Michigan State helped them move up to No. 24 with an overall 5-1 record.

Northwestern returns to Ryan Field on Saturday, October 24 (11 a.m. CT) to host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, which also use FieldTurf on their home field at SHI Stadium.

The $875 million New Ryan Field, the most expensive college football stadium ever built, was designed to put fans closer to the action. Just the second Big Ten football stadium built this century, it seats 35,000—more than 12,000 fewer than the stadium it replaced and the smallest capacity in the conference. Every seat outside the student section has a chair-back, and none is farther than 136 feet from the sideline. A canopy covers the entire seating bowl to focus crowd noise on the field, and a steep, standing-only student section known as the Wildcat Wall sits behind the end zone.

Ryan Field’s inclusion of FieldTurf, which is trusted at the surface of numerous elite college programs and several NFL franchises, signified that players and their potential to succeed were of the highest priority. This focus on players’ on-field experience complements the school’s mission to usher in a new era of college football entertainment that elevates intimacy and atmosphere.

“Northwestern has done something special with the new Ryan Field, building a tribute to the best that college football has to offer both its players and fans. We’re proud that FieldTurf can be part of that,” said Eddy Schmitt, President and CEO of Tarkett Sports. “Continuous innovation across every aspect of our system design, from fiber to infill, has consistently made us the leading choice for top college athletic programs. FieldTurf’s approach is backed by science, with independent and third-party research repeatedly demonstrating our ability to deliver leading traction, player safety, and durability.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an entire program and athletic department to open a facility that I would say is the best football stadium in the world,” said Northwestern head football coach David Braun, as reported by NUSports.com ahead of the home opener against Penn State. “This is transformational for the university and for the football program.”

The Leading Choice in College Football

FieldTurf is a long-recognized leader in delivering synthetic sports surfaces that provide a combination of performance, safety, and durability. Over 1,500 NCAA athletics programs trust FieldTurf.

This reputation has helped to make FieldTurf the leading choice among elite college football programs, including these other top Division-I NCAA teams: UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Houston, Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Rutgers, Texas, Utah, and more.

About FieldTurf
FieldTurf is part of Tarkett Sports, a global leader in sports construction and surfacing. Providing design and build services, and industry-leading sports surfacing solutions, Tarkett Sports delivers turnkey solutions for our clients.