Black Turf? SUNY Morrisville Unveils Bold New Playing Surface

If the goal was to be bold, then the athletics staff at SUNY Morrisville can fill in the box with an oversized checkmark.

There’s nothing ho-hum about the Mustangs’ turf upgrade. SUNY Morrisville went viral Tuesday after unveiling a completely black turf playing surface at Drake Field, the home of its football, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and — you guessed it — its men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.

The field is marked with white lines for football, red lines for men’s lacrosse, powder blue for women’s lacrosse, lime green for soccer and yellow for field hockey.

“As we set out to replace our old turf, we wanted to move in a bold, new direction that would give our department and student-athletes a unique identity to rally around,” SUNY Morrisville athletic director Matt Grawrock said.

This school just installed black turf…

Please have a moment of silence with me for the linemen during camp pic.twitter.com/QN0mW9Pufu

— WeAreBigGuys (@WeAreBigGuys) July 18, 2023

Designs for the new turf began early in 2022. The removal of the old surface, which had been in place since 2006, started in mid-May, and the project was completed in early July. The upgrades included improvements to the stadium’s locker rooms, new uprights for football and new fencing that will “showcase the department branding.”

Both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams at SUNY Morrisville reached their respective United East championship games last spring.

“Many people may ask why we’ve put a black field out there,” Grawrock said. “We’ve asked, why not?”

Touché.