From the Desk of Stan Morrison:

August 7, 2007

Dear Highlanders,

Usually, the summer months offer a bit of a lull in the otherwise hectic schedule of UCR intercollegiate athletics. The ongoing growth of our campus has been amazing – our athletics offices are surrounded on four sides by unprecedented growth/construction. To the east is the new Commons Project. On the west is the new CHASS (College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) Classroom and Office Building. To the south is the beginning of construction of the SASS building (Student Academic Support Services). Finally, to the north is the lay down area for the contractors for building these three buildings. There is a lot of dust in the air. And, there is even more excitement in the air!

But of all the projects, the one most pertinent to athletics is an exciting project that will help the Highlander soccer programs take the next step towards national excellence, as crews are completing work on a new playing surface at the UCR Soccer Stadium.

The new Tiger Turf (www.tigerturfworld.com) field will replace the grass surface, turning the venue into a 24/7 practice and competition facility. Both of our teams will be able to practice and play on the surface without concerns that are so prevalent on traditional grass surfaces.

The most impressive aspect of this project is its timeline. Due to the complexities of the university's academic calendar, there was a very small window in which the project could be started and completed to ensure the field would be ready in time for our soccer teams to report and begin their practice schedule. Under the guidance of Assistant Vice Chancellor, Mike Miller, the metamorphosis has been unfolding for the past month, and the target of completing the entire project by August 17, a period of just 45 days, appears to be right on track.

A project of this magnitude couldn't have been done without the assistance of several campus "all-stars." Kudos and thanks to Vice Chancellor Administration, Al Diaz, Vice Chancellor of Academic Planning and Budget, Gretchen Bolar, Director of Materiel Management, Russ Lewis, and the aforementioned Mike Miller, who can be seen walking virtually every inch of the field to make sure it is correct and meets his expectations for preparations. It was a team effort all the way, and we cannot thank these fine individuals enough.

The amount of work required to remove the sod, laser level and grade the field, hook up irrigation, laying concrete, 90-truck loads of gravel, is almost incalculable. Much care and planning has gone into new plantings, ground cover, fencing, even the new soccer goals, that will turn our facility into a beautiful soccer destination, one that our men's and women's teams deserve to play on. You may ask, "the goals? Why are they important?" Please allow me to explain. When a recruit comes to a campus, they ask five questions (apart from the obvious academic inquiries): 1.) Where do we play? 2.) Where do we practice? 3.) Where do I dress? 4.) Where is the coach’s office? And, 5.) Where do I live? With questions 1 and 2, prospects inspect everything! First, the prospects check out the goals. UCR made the decision to go with the suggestions of Head Coaches Junior Gonzalez and Veronica O’Brien by purchasing the finest goals that are used in the highest visibility Soccer stadiums in the world. While you and I may not fully comprehend the impact of that decision, recruits do.

The field will feature many of the latest safety and performance innovations,including the installation of "Brock" sub-surface (www.brockusa.com). Brock improves safety by improving the cushion (lowering the G-max) only at high impact level (i.e. during falls) without sacrificing speed and performance during regular play. Their slogan is “Play Hard, Land Soft”. Another advantage for using Brock is that it improves the drainage of the field by moving the water off the field quickly.

After the Tiger Turf is carefully placed on the field, the crew then will begin the critical process of installing the lines. They will shave the carefully measured areas for the lines and then fill in the shaved areas with durable white fiber material to make the lines for the UCR Soccer Stadium field. Again, UCR listened closely to Head Coaches O’Brien and Gonzalez. Rather than having logos and lettering on the playing surface, the coaches decided to keep the field clean of everything except the competition lines. There will be no confusing or outlandish logos or lettering. It will be soccer only! On the sideline 10 foot apron, directly in front of the bleachers, you will see the Big West Conference logo at both ends of the field. The logos will flank a bold, strong and appropriate statement in deep blue and trimmed in gold: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE.

Future plans include the installation of a permanent scoreboard, and the moving of lights from the area east of the field to existing light poles to increase the illumination and allow the teams to play at night.

As you can probably tell, we are very excited about this grand improvement to our soccer facility. I would like to invite you to come out and take a look at our new facility, and to join the Highlander soccer teams as they represent you and your university as they take on the best teams the country has to offer. Good luck to both teams and to Coaches O'Brien and Gonzalez. Go Blue and Gold!

i"Take Pride in R-side!"

Stan