Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium Will Debut a New FieldTurf Surface in 2013

Laramie, WY (May 7, 2013) - A brand new FieldTurf Revolution playing surface with a distinctive Wyoming design will be unveiled on Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium for the 2013 college football season. Installation is scheduled to begin June 1 and be complete by mid-summer.

The FieldTurf Revolution turf system was selected by Wyoming Athletics due to its elite-level playability. FieldTurf has been installed at many of the top NCAA football stadiums in the country for its grass-like performance and safety.

The new elements of the design will include a depiction of Wyoming’s iconic Teton Mountains in both end zones along with the traditional words “WYOMING” and “COWBOYS” in brown on a gameday gold background in opposite end zones. Those words will appear in a new western-style font for the coming season. Also new will be the lettering “7220 Feet” on both sidelines, indicating the elevation of War Memorial Stadium as the highest NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision field in the nation.

Jonah Field will continue as the name of Wyoming Football’s playing surface to commemorate the generous donations to UW Athletics by Mick and Susie McMurry and John and Mary Ann Martin and their families.

Wyoming’s traditional “Steamboat” symbol of a bucking horse and rider will remain at midfield in brown, outlined in white and gameday gold.

“This has been an exciting process for a number of reasons,” said Tom Burman, University of Wyoming Athletics Director. “When we began the design of the new field, we consulted award-winning graphic designer David Coleman, who is also a Wyoming native and UW graduate, to help develop the design. We thought who better to understand what we were looking for than a professional designer who grew up in Wyoming and graduated from the University and would take as much pride in this project as we did.

“Another exciting element of this project as we move forward is we are working with a company, in FieldTurf, that had a passion to work with us on this project. The Mountain West Regional Manager for FieldTurf is UW graduate and Cowboy baseball letter-winner Jed Easterbrook. Jed worked extremely hard with his company to win this bid, and we know that his pride as a former Cowboy will carry through until installation of our new surface is completed.”

“Our focus is to provide a high quality surface for the University of Wyoming,” said FieldTurf President Eric Daliere. “We are proud that the Cowboys’ organization has placed their trust in our product and our company, and we wish them much success on their new surface.”

Some of the other schools in the country who play on FieldTurf surfaces are: Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Oregon State, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, USC, Washington, Washington State and Wisconsin.

Players and coaches alike are excited about the new field design that will be uniquely Wyoming.

Dave Christensen, University of Wyoming Head Football Coach

“I believe FieldTurf is the best company in the industry right now,” said Christensen. “I’m excited that they are the company that is installing our new field in War Memorial.

“It’s great that we are getting a new surface, and it will be nice to have our gameday gold incorporated in the new design.

“Having a new surface will allow us to practice in the stadium more effectively than we normally would because of the brand new, upgraded surface.”

Brett Smith, Junior Quarterback

“I think the mountains are the coolest part,” said junior quarterback Brett Smith. “I think it represents the state well. I love it!”

Patrick Mertens, Senior Defensive Tackle

“I think the new field really brings the Wyoming culture out, and will do a good job of connecting Wyoming fans to our program, especially with the mountains in the end zones,” said Patrick Mertens, senior defensive tackle. “It will be an overall great addition to our program.”

Dominic Rufran, Junior Wide Receiver

“The new field looks great,” said Dominic Rufran, junior wide receiver. “The Steamboat (bucking horse symbol) in the middle and the mountains in the end zones top it off. It looks amazing.”

Devyn Harris, Senior Linebacker

“I like it, I think it brings a good Wyoming feel to the field,” said senior linebacker Devyn Harris. “I look forward to playing on it next season.”

Note: While the colors in the image accompanying this story may look different depending on the color settings on your computer or the publication you view it in, the brown and gameday gold colors that will be incorporated into the field were designed to match the exact colors of the Cowboys’ football uniforms.