New Surfaces for Indoor Facility, Practice Fields, Enhance Lobo Football
As Lobo Football head towards the season opener on August 24 against Montana State, the team now has four fully functional practice fields available to them. The newest field is inside the Indoor Practice Facility as a new artificial surface has been installed, an exact match to the turf that is in University Stadium. That project combines with the resodding and leveling of UNM’s outdoor practice fields, located just outside the Tow Diehm Football Facility to give UNM a practice setup that according to Mendenhall “should be the envy not just of the Mountain West, but of many Power-4 programs.”
The new artificial surface installation was completed in time for the beginning of fall camp. The new turf has UNM’s updated shield logo in the center, turquoise striping around the 20-yard lines to match University Stadium, and news end zones that are red with NEW MEXICO outlined in turquoise in UNM’s official wordmark. Each of the 25-yard lines is emblazoned with “Brian Urlacher Field” in red.
Everything about the turf pops, and with the banners of UNM’s All-American rising along the sideline wall, the facility gives UNM a fourth full-sized field in which to conduct drills.
“We could not have accomplished this without former Lobo Senator Mark Moores who really championed these projects,” said Nuñez. “Mark has taken the lead and our student-athletes, coaches and staff are grateful for the passion he has for UNM Athletics. We are also thankful for the many other legislators and our tremendous donors that have worked hard to help make our facility improvements a reality,” Nuñez added.
“Having our indoor facility ready with a new playing surface is another way to enhance our football program,” said Vice President/Director of Athletics Eddie Nuñez. “Having an indoor facility that has a game-ready field that matches our stadium turf will allow for our football team to always have a place to practice and prepare.”
“When we set out to improve any of our facilities, our focus and priority is always on functionality and maximizing on the talents of our student-athletes. The goal is for holistic improvement for our teams while emphasizing our traditions and our future.”
The Indoor Practice Facility sits on the top of an inclined hill above the resodded practice fields. The two side-by-side practice fields have been completely resodded and leveled with a new sprinkler system installed. Prior to this year, the west field and the east field were separated by a trench between the two fields, with the east field about two feet higher than the west field.
That’s no longer the case. Now, both fields are on the same plane with no crown or trench, allowing for UNM’s camera lifts to be in any position. Two sets of goalposts were moved to the east sidelines to allow for the team to alter the direction of the two fields.
“Having the both new practice surfaces will have a greater impact on reducing injuries,” said Associate A.D. for Health and Performance Bob Waller. “We are certainly seeing better recovery from our players after practices. Utilizing the grass fields has limited the wear and tear on their bodies, which is very important over the course of a long season.”
Additionally, the surface inside University Stadium must be mentioned. That is entering its fourth season of use and UNM’s surface is widely considered one of the top artificial surfaces in football based on its quickness and feel. Overall, the two grass fields, the indoor facility and University Stadium give the Lobos four fields. All connected to the Tow Diehm Football Complex, allowing for a self-contained practice experience that can now withstand any weather issues, allowing for the team to stay on schedule.
“You need to have alignment across many avenues, from the athletic administration to your campus administration. You also must have a commitment to the resources needed to achieve your goals, and UNM has that,” said Mendenhall. “To be able to seamlessly move to different fields and to have everything for our program contained for our coaches and players is something that not every program has.”
Football isn’t the only program that has had significant upgrades to its playing surfaces. Soccer received a new playing surface last year, as did the men’s and women’s tennis teams, and Lobo Softball Field will be a new playing surface as well. Both indoor and outdoor track & field have received new surfaces that have been praised within the track world. Additionally, several Lobo teams will utilize the indoor facility as for practices when weather dictates.
When you couple all of that with the New Mexico Mutual Champions Training Center and the Mark Paulsen Strength and Conditioning Center, you can see why Mendenhall feels that UNM is built for success.
“We will always have the welfare of our student-athletes at the forefront of everything we do,” said Nuñez. “Installing championship surfaces for our sports, whether football, softball, soccer, or tennis, shows a commitment to our student-athletes that we will provide the best in order for them to achieve success and reach their goals.”
Follow along with Lobo Football on Social Media on X (formerly twitter), Instagram and Facebook. Lobo Athletics partners with 505 Sports Venture Foundation to provide NIL opportunities for student-athletes. The First Team via The Lobo Club is a direct way to help the program through facility enhancements, recruiting, student-athlete development, nutrition, personnel and talent.