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From Sports Information
The Nicholls State University partnership with legendary Saints quarterback Archie Manning and his Manning Passing Academy is bringing a new football playing field of AstroTurf to Guidry Stadium.
Manning, who recently signed on as the new spokesman for AstroTurf, requested that the playing surface be installed at Nicholls for use by both the Colonels and the players who attend the Manning Passing Academy each July at the university. General Sports Venue, the exclusive marketer of AstroTurf, donated the new surface.
“I am both delighted and grateful that Archie Manning has selected Nicholls as the recipient of a new artificial surface,” Dr. Stephen Hulbert, Nicholls president, said. “The willingness of the Mannings to help upgrade the football field illustrates their long-term commitment to our university and the region. Our continued effort to work with private and corporate sectors to improve facilities is paying significant dividends and is consistent with the recommendations of our Blue Ribbon Committee that concluded its work last spring investigating ways to improve athletics funding.”
The turf field, valued at about $500,000, will be installed before the 2007 Manning Passing Academy opens its third year at Nicholls on July 12. The annual football camp draws more than 1,000 of the nation’s most promising high school quarterbacks and receivers. Archie Manning, with his sons, Cooper, Peyton and Eli, serves as executive director of the camp.
“AstroTurf is one of the most recognized brands in all of sports, and their new turf products are the best in the business,” Archie Manning said. “I am excited to be part of the all-American Astroturf team, and thrilled about AstroTurf’s contribution to Nicholls and their support for the Manning Passing Academy. I can tell you from first-hand experience; this is not your father’s AstroTurf.”
AstroTurf was patented in 1965 as the world’s first synthetic turf used as a sports playing surface. The product was re-launched today in New York City, with Manning announced as spokesperson and GSV named as the product’s exclusive marketing partner. The latest generation of AstroTurf includes custom-engineered turf systems with features like an antimicrobial layer to protect against bacteria, mold and fungi, and a simulated thatch layer that replicates the stabilizing underlayer of root fibers found in natural grass.
Rob Bernardi, Nicholls athletics director, said, “I am delighted that Nicholls will continue to serve as host of the Manning Passing Academy. The camp has a significant economic impact on our community. Thanks to the generosity of Archie Manning, we are able to provide the best playing surface possible to our student athletes.”
GSV has also installed AstroTurf at Florida State University, the University of Tennessee, Michigan State University, the University of Mississippi, the University of South Carolina and Virginia Tech, as well as being used by the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins.
Jay Thomas, head Colonels football coach, said, “This is outstanding news for our football program. All of Nicholls football is grateful to Archie Manning for what he is doing for our facility. I truly appreciate this and know it will benefit not just the football program but the entire university community.”
Following the installation of the new surface, the field will be renamed Manning Field Presented By AstroTurf in honor of the contributions of the Mannings and their camp. The facility will retain the name of John L. Guidry Stadium.
Photo by Matt LeBlanc • Tri-Parish Times/ Beginning next season, John L. Guidry Stadium will no long have a natural grass field. Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning requested that the playing surface be installed.
