CONWAY — Last Friday – April 1 – Central Arkansas released the announcement that a purple-and-gray synthetic turf is coming to Estes Stadium this summer.
Dismissed by some as an April Fools' Day prank, the attention received by the school and its athletic department has been no joke.
In the week since the announcement, the Bears have been in the national eye at unprecedented levels with media outlets from around the country carrying the story and seeking out Dr. Brad Teague, Director of Athletics, for interviews.
"The amount of national publicity has exceeded any expectations," Teague said. "We are very pleased with the attention we are receiving. Most importantly, it has driven attention to our athletics and campus websites. It's nice to know that we have thousands of people who have never heard of the University of Central Arkansas who are now becoming very much aware of our great campus and community. We're continuing to field requests by national media for interviews and information, and I can't imagine what attention it will bring when the turf is actually installed."
The story appeared both online and in print in numerous outlets outside the local market, being lauded as the
"coolest field in college football" by The Sporting News, getting high visibility on the Yahoo! home page, in the USA Today and on its website, CBS Sports and Fox Sports websites and was also picked up by the Idaho Statesman and Orlando Sentinel, along with national syndication from The Sports Network wire service.
Teague has also made appearances on radio shows throughout the country, ranging from Boise, Idaho to Corpus Christi, Texas to – most recently – appearing on the Tony Barnhart & Wes Durham show on 790 The Zone in Atlanta.
Durham, the voice of the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, had high praise for the field – saying UCA has "the right colors to do it" and that "they're going to win doing this – I don't care what their record is" following the interview.
