Athletics unveiled its new football field design on Monday that will be a part of the new stadium and will honor the president of the university.
The new design changed the color of the turf to purple with a cut of President Phil Schubert’s face at the 50-yard line and a picture of Willie the Wildcat at the 15-yard line on the South side of the field and a picture of Phil Schubert at the North 15-yard line.
“It was supposed to be green with the ACU logo at midfield,” Vice President of Athletics Zack Lassiter said. “I don’t know how it ended up purple with Phil’s face in the middle. It just showed up purple when it was delivered.”
After seeing the purple field, Schubert insisted that athletics keep it claiming there was not enough money to buy a replacement. He personally oversaw the installation of the turf and invited the Wildcat Wranglers and Willie the Wildcat to take part as well.
Once the turf was installed Schubert inspected every inch of the field ensuring each blade of grass was the correct length and fit for the football team to play on.
“I’m a little superstitious, and we’ve only lost one game on the old turf in the last two seasons,” Head Football Coach Keith Patterson said. “But I don’t care what color field we play on, it can be orange, yellow, blue, hot pink, as long as we win the UAC, I don’t care.”
After an incident with the ACU Pisser, Schubert insisted the field be covered with a tarp at all times and instructed ACUPD to have an officer always watching the field.
To better protect the field from the weather, he brought up the idea of a dome stadium in the future, named after the Wildcat Wranglers. After funding issues for the stadium were brought up, he quickly reassured everyone that April Anthony would be able to cover the costs.
“I want this field to be kept in the best condition possible,” Schubert said. “It’s the best-looking field in the entire NCAA. McMurry has their gray and red striped field down the street, but it doesn’t compare to our field that truly showcases Wildcat pride.”
