Kansas City, MO, [March 3, 2016]– The innovative leader of intercollegiate integrity is teaming up with an iconic sports brand known for its pioneering spirit. Following a rigorous vetting process, the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association has announced that AstroTurf® will become the Official Synthetic Turf of the NAIA.
The NAIA’s selection of AstroTurf amounts to an exclusive partnership between the American artificial turf manufacturer and the athletic association, and represents an alignment of shared values regarding the positive impact of collegiate sports. Dan Harris, a member of the NAIA Hall-of-Fame for his outstanding service as Athletic Director at Baker University, will act as liaison between the two organizations. Mr. Harris has served as a sales consultant to AstroTurf since 2013.
“The NAIA is delighted to designate AstroTurf as the official turf of the NAIA,” said NAIA President Jim Carr. “Their innovative products and commitment to excellence will enableNAIA athletes to perform on safe and durable fields, thereby elevating the level of athletic competition among our teams.”
Dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics, the NAIA has served as the nation’s governing body of small athletic programs since 1937. The NAIA continuously promotes the values of fair competition, integrity and student-athlete success through initiatives such as Champions of Character, established in 2000. Providing athletic experiences for more than 60,000 student-athletes in over 200 member schools across 23 championship sports each year, the NAIA maintains proper balance with overall college educational experience.
“AstroTurf is an innovative company that has made great strides to advance the technology of artificial turf systems, resulting in better performance and safety for the athletes,” said Mr. Harris. “The character values of these two organizations align so closely making this partnership a great match.”
Founded in 1965, AstroTurf originated the synthetic turf industry and has spent the last fifty years developing new technologies and inventive designs to push the envelope of the artificial turf trade. Today AstroTurf offers a product line of dozens of customizable synthetic playing surfaces engineered for top-flight performance and safety with sport-specific playability. A globally recognized brand with fields on all four corners of the Earth, AstroTurf remains a family-owned American company that maintains both its corporate headquarters and its manufacturing facilities in Dalton, Georgia.
Republished with permission NAIA is the original author and naia.org the original publisher.