Notre Dame Football: FieldTurf, The Epilogue

Your hopes and dreams (or nightmare) for FieldTurf at Notre Dame have come to fruition, so how do you feel?

All the way back in 2014, Notre Dame installed FieldTurf inside Notre Dame Stadium. For some, it was a move that was long overdue, and for others it was an absolute sacrilege. It was a bold move by Jack Swarbrick and the rest of the powers that be to take what many considered a “tradition,” and cut it up into little slabs for fans to purchase for the obvious reasons of shrine-making in their backyards at home.

It was the first big step in the greater process of the project known as “The Crossroads.” If you’ve been under a rock for the past few years or have no understanding why Notre Dame stadium all of a sudden has steel beams all around it, The Crossroads is the huge Notre Dame Stadium renovation project that will include more seating, luxury suites, new press box, classrooms, and more.

I hate to use the word “rebranding” when we are talking about THE brand in college football, but with all of the Crossroads action, the switch to Under Armour, and the entire Shamrock Series business- Notre Dame is doing some serious rebranding.

The question at the moment is about the switch to FieldTurf:

If you are interested to know about how much this switch has to do with the recent injury bug at Notre Dame, there was a 5 year study on injuries and FieldTurf. Here are some of the points:

Key Summary Points on the Advantages of FieldTurf:

– 15% Fewer Substantial Injuries-  20% Fewer Severe Injuries
–  11% Fewer Concussions
–  24% Lower Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Trauma
–  10% Lower ACL and Associated Injuries Combined
–   6% Fewer AC/Shoulder Separations
–  37% Fewer Rotator Cuff Tears
–  35% Lower Incidence of Shoulder Lesions
–  15% Less Injury from Cleat: Surface Interaction During Physical Contact
–  25% Fewer Ligament Tears
–  39% Fewer Muscle Tears
–  21% Lower Incidence of 2^nd Degree Trauma
–  15% Lower Incidence of 3^rd Degree Trauma
–  32% Less Injury During Inclement Weather
–  28% Fewer Injuries Under Hot Weather Conditions
–  10% Fewer Injuries Requiring Medical Imaging Procedures

Additional Benefits with FieldTurf:

–  12% Fewer Player-to-Turf Collision Injuries
–  13% Fewer Muscle-Tendon Overload Injuries
–  15% Fewer Ligament Sprains
–  14% Less Joint Trauma
–  10% Less Neural Trauma
–   9% Fewer Injuries Requiring Surgery
–  22% Fewer Shoulder Injuries
–  13% Fewer Knee Injuries
–  15% Fewer Ankle Injuries
–  26% Fewer High Ankle Sprains

This is about more than just injury stats though, the question is “how do you feel?” Is this a move that you are prepared to live with, or will you complain about it every Saturday in the fall? Just asking….