Vols AD Hamilton nixes idea of synthetic turf at Neyland Stadium

Dooley, speaking Friday at the Knoxville Orthopedic Kickoff Classic Lunchion, hinted at the possibility of replacing Neyland Stadium's grass with a synthetic surface in the near future. After wishing the audience good luck with the high-school jamboree that's being held Aug. 13 at Neyland Stadium, which had an artificial surface from 1968-93: Dooley joked that he didn't want the field to be torn up too much. He then said he hoped to install "field turf" in the near future to open the possibility of giving players at the high-school level and lower the opportunity to play inside Neyland Stadium. Hamilton, men's athletic director, responded in a text message that there are no plans in the works to get rid of the grass. "I'm a traditionalist,'' Hamilton texted, "I think we have one of the best fields in football and the grass has been replaced in the last couple of years. "But, we don't have enough practice space and we'll keep discussing options for that.''Hamilton also said the synthetic turf on the indoor practice field in the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex will be replaced in the next 12 months. Tennessee installed an artificial surface at Neyland Stadium in 1968. It was known as "Doug's Rug" because Doug Dickey was the head coach who advocated the switch. UT was prepared to return to natural grass if the stadium was selected as a venue for the 1992 World Cup, but that did not happen. Grass returned for the 1994 season.