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Hinshaw family members, from left, Horace, Marian and granddaughter Kerrigan Bull, pose in front of the famous blue football field at Boise State University.
P rior to this past Labor Day weekend, I had never had an opportunity to visit the state of Idaho. But I knew that if I ever got to Boise one of my first stops was going to be Boise State University, the home of the Blue Field.
Our granddaughter, Kerrigan, is a senior at Boise State, so my wife, Marian, and I visited her over the holiday weekend. She was a great tour guide, and, over a four-day span, kept us hopping. But the first stop on the morning of our arrival was the Blue Field, or “The Blue,” as Albertsons Stadium is officially known.
Thirty-six years ago, the school’s athletic director came up with the idea of a blue-colored artificial turf field. The school needed to install a new field at that time. As the story goes, the AD wanted to set Boise State apart from other Division I schools, and what better way to get attention than with a unique field. The field would match Boise’s school colors.
Hinshaw family members, from left, Horace, Marian and granddaughter Kerrigan Bull, pose in front of the famous blue football field at Boise State University.
Our Boise State tour guide pointed out that the university trademarked the color blue as applied to “artificial turf” for Division I FBS schools. There are several blue fields at both the high school and college level, but Boise has the only one in college football’s highest division. In 2011, the National Football League instituted a rule that teams must have their field color approved by the league and it has to be a shade of green. It’s called the Boise State Rule.
The field can be viewed by entering through the Allen Noble Hall of Fame building in the southwest corner of Albertsons Stadium. You can take a photo of the field from a platform on the Hall of Fame patio while learning about the history of Boise State athletics from the tour guide. You are not allowed to walk on the field, or even touch it, which is a bummer. It would have been nice if they sold a piece of the turf as a souvenir.
Over the years, the field has become so popular that tours are offered every weekday except on football game days and when the Boise State football team is practicing. The official name of the field is Lyle Smith Field in honor of the coach who led the 1958 team to a national championship.
Our tour guide told us that over 12,000 people have signed the guest book with visitors coming from all over the United States and many countries.
A trip to the field is worth it, should you be in Boise, even if you can’t touch the blue turf.
And should you visit Boise in September, you’ll see air balloons floating over the city early in the mornings at the annual Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic. In the evening thousands of people gather at a local park to get up close to endless colorful balloons while being entertained with music by local radio stations.
Lotti’s image added to field: Last year the Terra Nova football field was named Bob Lotti Field in honor of the legendary coach who led the school to its first Central Coast Section championship in 1982.This year marks the 40th anniversary of that winning team.
Recently, an anonymous donor received permission from the Jefferson Union High School District and Terra Nova Principal Megan Carey to have an image of Lotti painted on the surface of the field. An image can be seen at the 35-yard line on both sides of the field.
The image depicts Coach Lotti wearing a headset with the words “Bob Lotti Field” printed on the turf. The cost for the materials was handled by the donor.
“My understanding is that the donor reached out to the family. They reached out to the school, and here we are with a nice-looking image on the field,” said Carey. “It’s a great gift, courtesy of a former player.”
Carey noted that the image is not permanent as the material used will breakdown over time.
Hall of Fame nominations: The Pacifica Sports Hall of Fame, the Pacifica Sports Club’s vehicle for honoring local legends, is now accepting nominations for its 2023 class of inductees.
The public is invited to submit candidates for consideration of nomination into the PSHOF at an induction dinner in February. Nominations in a letter of 250 words must be received by Sept. 30.
The PSHOF recognizes people in four categories: Athlete, Coach, Administrative/Official and Media. Every candidate must have a direct tie to Pacifica (i.e., a native of Pacifica or resident of the community when they accomplished their particular feat warranting Hall of Fame recognition). A nominee, either male or female, must be at least 25 years old.
The nomination letter can be mailed to: Pacifica Sports Club, P.O. Box 626, Pacifica, CA 94044 or emailed to Horace Hinshaw at horaceh1@yahoo.com.
This year’s PHSOF awards dinner will be held Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Grosvenor Hotel in South San Francisco. It is expected that four persons will be welcomed as members of the 2023 Class.
— Horace Hinshaw is Tribune sports editor emeritus.
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