DALLAS, Aug. 25, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This weekend, not only will four of Texas' top five high school football programs play in the state's premier high school football event, but they also will be the first teams to compete on Southern Methodist University's new state-of-the-art field: a Mondoturf 3NX Thermo-bonded Fine Tuned Ecofill artificial turf system.
The 7-Eleven Tom Landry Classic, now in its 12th year, will be held Aug. 27 at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium. At 4:30 p.m., the No. 2 Highland Park Scots will take the field against the No. 5 Everman Bulldogs, which will be followed by a battle between the No. 1 Allen Eagles and the No. 4 Cedar Hill Longhorns.
The Mondoturf 3NX Thermo-bonded Fine Tuned Ecofill artificial turf system is manufactured by Mondo, the global leader in the sports flooring market. The new field was installed this spring, replacing an artificial turf field that had reached the end of its useful lifespan after eight years.
The NCAA Division I university's officials chose the Mondoturf 3NX Thermo-bonded Fine Tuned Ecofill artificial turf system for the product's technology and performance, and because of the company behind it.
"Our system relies on the speed of the players, and the technology behind the Mondoturf FTS system provides the stability that is necessary for that speed," said June Jones, head coach of SMU's football team. "We also wanted a field with characteristics that were similar to natural grass, and this product gave us confidence that we were minimizing the difference between natural grass and artificial turf, while also significantly reducing the heat factor of the turf."
Steve Orsini, SMU's director of athletics, said the Mondo name was another key factor. "We wanted the new field to come from a company with a proven reputation for the highest quality products," he said. "We wanted to make sure that the field we chose would perform at the highest level for college or professional sports."
While Mondoturf's high-density Ecofill infill creates a stable and uniform playing surface, and the field's impact performance and energy return are the most like natural turf, the product's durability was another important characteristic for SMU. In addition to intercollegiate football practice and games, the field also is used for men's and women's soccer practice, men's and women's club lacrosse, and sports camps. Plus, the university wanted a field that would lessen the impact of Dallas' scorching summer heat. Ecofill infill is a patented, environmentally friendly, factory-manufactured polyolefin-based granule infill that is not made from reground tire pellets, which are commonly used by other artificial turf manufacturers, so it retains less heat than the black rubber granules found on other artificial turf fields.
"It's a huge point for us to be able to say that we're going to reduce the field's heat radiation during the summer months," Orsini said.
The field's groundbreaking 3NX fiber has proven core characteristics that allow it to perfectly mimic the responses of natural grass, and to do so with outstanding resilience and durability while offering superior player comfort.
Thermo-bonded, Mondo's newest artificial turf backing, provides a dimensionally stable tufted turf without needing a polyurethane secondary backing. A dual primary backing holds the turf fibers in place more securely than traditional primary backings can, so the field can be handled as necessary without substantial fiber loss.
The FTS underlayment is a prefabricated shock pad/drainage system made of recycled tire granules that are treated and encapsulated in polyurethane, preventing the possibility of contamination. The underlayment compacts less than traditional systems, so the field's play and performance characteristics remain consistent throughout the entire surface, ensuring optimal play and outstanding ball action while minimizing the risk of injuries to athletes, even if the infill migrates.
SMU also had previous experience with Mondo products: The floor of the football team's weight room is built with Mondo's Sport Impact inlaid platforms.
Founded in 2000, the Tom Landry Classic has raised more than $500,000 in scholarships awarded to game-day players, trainers, cheerleaders, and drill team and band members of participating teams.
About Southern Methodist University
A private university located in the heart of Dallas, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world through seven degree-granting schools.
SMU sponsors 17 intercollegiate sports programs, and the university has ranked as the top school in its conference for 11 of the last 13 years in the Director's Cup overall athletic rankings. Gerald J. Ford Stadium, the university's on-campus football stadium, opened in 2000 and has seating for 32,000 fans.
The Mondo logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5765
About Mondo
Mondo is the global leader in the sports and contract flooring markets, manufacturing flooring surfaces for virtually every application. More than 1,100 Mondo tracks and 800 Mondo artificial turf fields are installed worldwide. The official supplier of the athletic track for the past nine Olympic Games and the upcoming 2012 London Olympics, Mondo also is the official supplier or official sponsor of more than 100 sports federations and associations.
The company supplies a wide variety of commercial flooring, and it is the world's largest producer of sports and toy balls with an average daily production of 450,000 units. In addition, it manufactures large luxury yachts under its Mondo Marine division.
A family-owned business since its founding in 1948, Mondo sells its products in more than 196 countries. The company's global headquarters are in Italy, and it has manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. More information about Mondo is available at mondoworldwide.com.
Mondo is a registered trademark of Mondo.