Eastern’s field to bleed red

EWU students won’t be the only ones “rockin’ the red.”

Former EWU football player standout and current All-pro Tennessee Titans left tackle, Michael Roos, has jump-started a project to turn Woodward Field’s turf red, joining Boise State University and Division II University of New Haven as the only NCAA schools in the country with a field that is a color other than green. BSU and UNH both have blue fields.

Roos donated $500,000 toward the project and another $100,000 has followed suit. The project is close to 75 percent there in regards to funding, which is all coming from private donors. The final cost is estimated to be between $800,000 and $1 million. The state, university and students will not be paying for any of it.

“I am grateful for my time at EWU,” said Roos. “Eastern’s leadership, coaches and football program paved the way for my professional success in football. It is exciting to be able to give back.”

“We are so grateful for Michael and [wife] Katherine to consider a gift of this size,” said Bill Chaves, EWU athletic director. “It just speaks volumes of their character and their experience at Eastern. We couldn’t be more thankful to both of them.”

“This is just a football player who is really appreciative of what this university and the football program did for him,” said Marc Hughes, associate athletics director for development. Former EWU football Head Coach Paul Wulff “took a chance on [Roos] when he didn’t have to, and now [Roos] is obviously benefitting from what [Wulff] did for him and now wants to give back to the program.”   

The red turf project has sparked national interest, making its way to the NCAA Web site and yahoo.com and specifically in Boise, Idaho, where the infamous “smurf turf” is located.

“Maybe it’s a compliment, maybe a copycat. It’s working for us,” a BSU fan told Fox-Idaho.

“People are talking about Eastern, which is not something that usually happens up here, because up here, Eastern football has never been the big thing in Spokane,” said Larry Weir, EWU play-by-play announcer.

It was believed that the blue turf in Boise was grandfathered in, and that all other fields must be green. That is not true. According to the NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations, there are no color requirements on the field other than the lines must be white. Even University of Alabama Offensive Coordinator Jim McElwain, a former EWU player and coach, who recently won the BCS National Championship, didn’t think it was possible.

“There weren’t a lot of people who expected us to be in this situation, nobody expected me to get a yes,” said Hughes. “The situation we’re in right now is really exciting for a lot of people.”

Woodward Field hasn’t been upgraded once in its 43-year-old life, living with natural grass. The synthetic turf will let EWU save money spent on the maintenance of the field such as watering and painting before each game. Approximately 300,000 gallons of water will be saved each year. EWU hopes to save the grass from the current field and move it somewhere else to be used.
 

The football program, which has seen its success come back this past season, believes it will be able to maintain its prominence and continue to grow with the installation of the red turf.

“It’s huge for recruiting because potential student-athletes can see the progress we are making and the positive direction of our program,” said EWU football Head Coach Beau Baldwin. “With all the different events that can take place at Woodward Field and a stronger game-day experience, it’s bound to bring more exposure to our program.”

It will also give EWU a home-field advantage, not just because of the red, but also because of the synthetic turf.

“Having [the new] turf is like having a new playground,” said Nick Edwards, EWU’s wide receiver. “It makes everything more fluent.”

“I think it will help us out a lot,” said Taiwan Jones, EWU starting halfback. “Last year, there were a lot of big plays taken away because people were slipping. Having turf will benefit us because our opponents have the same [playing field].”

“It will give our best athletes, like Jones, their best chance to showcase their talents for the next level,” Hughes said.

Not only will the turf boost the football program, Chaves believes it will help the university as a whole.

“The hope is to have an impact on the university. For EWU to obtain notoriety is a very good thing,” Chaves said.

The goal is to have the field in place for the first home game of the 2010 season, which just might be against EWU’s rival, the University of Montana Grizzlies.

“If there is one reason why we should do it, it’s because Montana hates it,” said Hughes. “They absolutely hate it.”