The debate over playing college football on natural grass got a fresh jolt after the FIFA World Cup ended last weekend on a grass surface at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. FIFA requires World Cup matches to be played on natural surfaces, so several major American stadiums had to bring in sod to meet the standard. That reality has fueled a wave of complaints from current NFL players, who have pointed out the irony of being asked to play on artificial turf in buildings that can clearly handle grass.
That conversation landed at Michigan Stadium almost immediately, since it was announced earlier this week that new turf had been installed there.
There’s no real argument about the playing surface itself: natural grass is easier on athletes than artificial turf. It’s kinder to knees, joints, backs and the rest of the body. The real question is whether the benefits are worth the price college athletic departments would have to pay to make grass the norm.
Michigan Stadium has already lived both lives. From 1927 through 1968, the Big House had traditional Kentucky bluegrass.
Then in 1969, Michigan switched to 3M TartanTurf, an early alternative to AstroTurf. The move cut maintenance costs and kept the field green all season, but players weren’t fans of the heat on hot days or the way the surface felt under them.
The stadium went back to natural grass from 1991 to 2002, and the field was lowered by 3.5 feet as part of that change. Players liked the surface, but the setup came with major problems.
Michigan Stadium sits mostly below ground level and near the local water table, which made drainage a constant headache. The higher edges of the bowl also blocked sunlight, and the wear from multiple sports tore up the grass quickly each year.
That led to another switch in 2003, when Michigan returned to turf with FieldTurf. It was a clear upgrade from 3M TartanTurf, but it still comes with the same basic issue: it’s artificial, and it’s hard on the body.
Michigan is hardly alone. About two-thirds of college football programs play on synthetic turf, while roughly one-third use natural grass.
Most of the grass fields are in the South, where winter weather is less of a problem. Alabama, Georgia and LSU are among the schools on natural grass, while Ohio State, Oregon, USC and Nebraska are among the programs on turf.
So the simple answer is obvious: grass is better. The harder part is paying for it. For Michigan, that raises the real question - would you support higher ticket prices, in-stadium ads or other changes if it meant the Big House could go back to natural grass?
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