LINCOLN, Neb., Dec. 14, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The University of Nebraska and FieldTurf have again come full circle. The Cornhuskers, who hosted the very first Division I football game on FieldTurf in 1999 at Lincoln's Memorial Stadium, will now play the inaugural major college basketball game on FieldTurf Tarkett's new state-of-the-art basketball court. The game will take place on Saturday, December 15 when Nebraska (7-2) plays 16th ranked Oregon (8-1) at the Qwest Center in Omaha.
Nebraska Interim Athletics Director Tom Osborne was responsible for the Huskers taking a chance on the then-unknown product of FieldTurf. Since then, FieldTurf has had over 2500 installations in more than 40 countries. Through extensive and exhaustive research, FieldTurf Tarkett has developed the most technologically advanced basketball flooring system available. With Nebraska scheduled to play Oregon away from NU's Lincoln campus but within the state of Nebraska, this proved to be a great opportunity for the Cornhuskers to rack up yet another "first" with FieldTurf Tarkett.
"Having FieldTurf Tarkett's new Sportable floor system available to take on the road with us will give us a true home court advantage," said Nebraska Assistant Athletic Director/Facilities John Ingram. "This new floor will allow us to have greater flexibility when staging events in the future."
"Everyone at FieldTurf Tarkett is obviously excited about staging the first major college basketball game to be played on a FieldTurf Tarkett court," said FieldTurf Tarkett CEO David Moszkowski. "And we couldn't be more delighted that this is happening with Nebraska. We will be forever indebted to Coach Osborne and the entire Cornhusker family for believing in FieldTurf and creating the impetus that has allowed us to become the undisputed world leader in artificial turf and flooring. But this wouldn't mean a thing if we weren't supremely confident in the ultra-high quality of our new basketball court. I know that Coach Sadler and his team are going to really enjoy the experience of playing on it."
Known as "Sportable," FieldTurf Tarkett's basketball surface is a premium removable floor that is the product of extensive research in producing the best shock absorption, frictional resistance and high consistency in ball reaction.
FieldTurf Tarkett is the largest entity in the sports surfacing industry and provides unparalleled leasing capabilities, engineering and manufacturing resources. In addition to its world-renowned FieldTurf and Prestige brands of artificial turf, FieldTurf Tarkett provides an equally impressive range of products that includes synthetic and hardwood basketball, volleyball and gymnasium flooring, squash and racquetball courts, floor protection and covering systems and weight room flooring. Also in the range of FieldTurf Tarkett products are indoor and outdoor running tracks, including the high performance 'Le Monde' track system, playground surfacing and a complete range of tennis and golf surfaces. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com