Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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`c Stadium gets renewed fife LL: by Nabil Shaheen WEAR AND TEAR took its toll on Memorial Stadium ' s field. Its condition had become so poor that even the rock climbing club was banned from climbing the outside walls. The football team had long since moved from the old stadium, club sports began weighing other playing field options and the K-State Marching Band ' s use of the facility all depended on mother nature. Plans for artificial turf on the field began four years ago —J and ended when the new field and track reopened Sept. 9, Mark Taussig, university landscape architect, said. I kept throwing out the idea that if we put in artificial grass, we can play on it 2417, Taussig said. You put natural grass in there, and you ' re only going to get on there a couple of times a week if you want to use it as a game field where there is good grass on it for a game. The installed turf expanded the playing area for regulation-size soccer, lacrosse and rugby games. This is the closest thing to a pro stadium we ' ll get to play in, said Jim Compton, soccer club member and senior in secondary education. Compared to Arrowhead or some other professional stadiums, this field is pretty close. The new field provided clubs with a home arena on campus, helped in recruitment for opposing teams to compete here and extended playing and practice time with the addition of eight metal halide floodlights. Individual students had the opportunity to use the new rubberized track circling the playing field. I like to run outside a lot more than I do on a treadmill, said Holly Cribbs, sophomore in family and consumer education. It ' s just really pretty out here and it ' s a good place to come and run with your friends or even just by yourself. It ' s a good place to run because there ' s lights and there ' s other people here. With the renovations, the nearly forgotten, 79-year-old field at Memorial Stadium was reborn, Taussig said. Part of school is learning and the other part is your extracurricular activities, Ile said. (The stadium) is an important part of that extracurricular. Every time I go by there, there are kids out there or people in the community out running around the track. This has a new lease on life. Memorial Stadium 13

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ILLUMINATED BY the floodlights installed at Memorial Stadium, Holly Cribbs, sophomore in family and consumer education, and Heather Meckenstock, freshman in hotel and restaurant management run on the new rubberized track. The lights allowed students the opportunity to use the facility at night, an opportune time for many. ' I ran out here a lot last year but this track is really niceiCribbs said. ' It absorbs a lot of the shock that you ' d get on your legs. ' — Photo by Drew Rose RUSHING to catch a softball, Traci Hersey, freshman in elementary education, plays catch with he brother, Matthew, freshman in elementary education. on the new turf Oct. 11. Many activities, including K-State Marching Band practice, took place on the new turf. The band director just loves it; Mark Taussig, university landscape architect said. ' He was out thee when R was raining. Theywere out there practicing In the rain and he just loves It ' — Photo by Kelly Glasscock 12 Student Life

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Friends, food, purple make tailgating a popular activity before football games by Kristen Day Matt Gamey OUTSIDE KSU STADIUM, the smell of hamburgers on an open grill wafted through the sea of recreational vehicles. A football bounced off the pavement almost clipping a pedestrian. Grabbing the ball, a child passed it back to his grandfather as me-game tailgat ing shifted into high gear. Fans came for quality tailgating time as much as the game. Kelly Sheik, freshman in open-option, and her family had been tailgating for 34 years. Arriving at the stadium hours before game time, they pulled their Chevy Suburban into spot 513 — the same spot they had filled since 1968. grandpa bought that spot right after the stadium was built, Sheik said. Our family has had it ever since. Wildcat fans participated in cookout festivities. Conversation ranged from personal lives to a bad referee call at a previous game. 4111) Pre- game activities soared when fans knew the game would be televised. Extreme fans showed off artistic ability by painting bellies and faces. They arrived three hours early to get front row seats at the K-State versus USC game, Sept. 21. While waiting, seven friends painted KSU loves TBS on their stomachs. On their backs, players names and numbers mocked jerseys. Mike Edwards, freshman in open-option, stood as the middleman with the heart drawn on his stomach. Every time we turned around the camera guy was in our f aces, Edwards said. My dad said he saw us on TV and we were on the JumboTron a lot. A field northeast of the stadium provided an area for HOPING FOR a better view of other tailgaters Bryce Mongeau, junior in biology, climbs the ladder of a 1971 antique Segrave nretruck before the K-State versus USC ball game, Sept. 21. While Mongeau was on top of the firettuck, he took vantage of the improved cell phone reception by ailing a friend of his. — Photo by Matt Stamey BEFORE THE USC GAME, Blake Vanleeuwen, more in art, paints a single Wildcat on the torsos of fans Greg Layton, more in business. and Craig Garrett, sophomore in business ment. Body painting was one form of fan support. —Photo by Nicole Donnert greeks, among others, to tailgate. Ben Davis, freshman in civil engineering, said tailgating pumped him up for the game. Fans filled the stadium to capacity at opening kickoff. Supporters screamed as shaking keys and pompons added to the atmosphere. The clock counted down to the start of thegamc. For the next four quarters, fans got what they came for: a Wildcat victory. As the game ended, lines of people swarmed out of the field and traffic jammed the streets. After the games, we didn ' t want to leave early because of the traffic. Sheik said. So we played some more catch and tried to get rid of all the food. 14 Student Life