MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The original turf at John Mark Stallings Field inside Billy D. Hilyer Stadium is officially no more. A crew from Sprinturf finished removal of the original turf Wednesday morning in view of upcoming repair work on the sinkhole underneath the field that developed in early 2020. Upon conclusion of the repairs, Sprinturf will begin installation of the new synthetic turf multipurpose field with project completion expected in early summer. 
 

"This is something that we have been working on pretty consistently over the last year," Faulkner Athletic Director Hal Wynn said. "There were a lot of challenges with availability of involved parties due to COVID. I am glad we are now able to get things moving and we look forward to having our football and soccer teams back on campus ahead of the Fall season."

The new playing surface, as produced and installed by Sprinturf, will reflect the updated brand identity of Faulkner University athletics as adopted in April 2019. 

"It should be a really exciting thing for student-athletes, coaches, alumni and fans," Director of Sports Information and Marketing Jeremy Smith said of the design. "John Mark Stallings Field is one of the most visible pieces of branding real estate in our department. Being able to get our identity on that field in a way that is both fresh and consistent with our other venues should have a lot of positive impacts for all the involved stakeholders for years to come."

A LOOK AT THE TURF DESIGN

The football field portion of the new turf will feature alternating shades of green every five yards as part of the basic surface leading into black end zones designed to complement the Tine Davis Gymnasium floor baseline pattern put in place ahead of the 2020-2021 season. The end zones also consist of the word "Eagles" in OnRamp, the support font for Faulkner athletics' brand identity. The end zones also contain the F-Wing logo that emblazons the helmets of the Eagle football team. 

Between the end zones, the field features the primary Faulkner Athletics logo as designed by Greg Hahn of Designs by Hahn. Remaining from the original turf design is the "John Mark Stallings Field" nomenclature in white lettering with a royal blue outline centered diagonally at each 25 yard line. New features include a royal blue outline around the numerals as well as a black border around the sidelines of the football field. The coaches and player boxes each feature alternating Faulkner colors to better distinguish themselves. 

"We feel like this design will be really functional in addition to being eye-catching," Smith said. 

The soccer field portion of the playing surface is marked by the Columbia blue lines, setting it off from the football field while also complementing the volleyball lines of the same color inside Tine Davis Gymnasium to help maintain a consistent brand identity across Faulkner's various playing surfaces. Additionally, the F-Shield logo – preferred by the men's and women's soccer programs at Faulkner - sits just out of bounds in each corner of the soccer field.

"As we began designing this field, we really wanted to do something different for our soccer teams. The black lines on the old green field were difficult to see. We think the Columbia lines will really help fans to see the soccer field better," Smith said. "We also wanted to do something specific for soccer in the design. We didn't want them to feel like they were just playing on a football field. We wanted to give them ownership and a signature in the design as well. We think we accomplished that with the color change in the soccer lines as well as the placement of the F-Shield logos."

Faulkner's men's and women's soccer teams played their 2020 season at the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex in Montgomery while the football team played its games at Cramton Bowl. All three programs look forward to a return to on-campus competition in the Fall. 

JOHN MARK STALLINGS FIELD COMMEMORATIVE TURF AVAILABLE NOW    

As part of the field removal process, Faulkner athletics has retained small portions of the original turf that have been made available in commemorative shadow box frames.

Individuals can purchase either green, blue end zone, or midfield logo portions of the turf that housed Faulkner's football and soccer programs for 10 years here: https://faulknereagles.com/sports/2021/1/14/purchase-tickets.aspx

All shadow boxes are 8x8 and come with a John Mark Stallings Field nameplate. A second custom nameplate with an individual's name and sport or activity can be purchased for an additional $15. Prices vary based upon whether the item will be picked up locally or shipped. For inquiries regarding the John Mark Stallings Field Commemorative Turf initiative, email fsn@faulkner.edu.