The Foundation for Safer Athletic Fields for Everyone (SAFE), SFMA’s charity, awarded two $15,000 grants to universities to conduct research that will provide safer field surfaces for athletes.
The University of Florida and the University of Tennessee are collaborating on a joint study to evaluate the playability and lower leg forces during the football season. Texas A&M University will research the impact of turfgrass species, soil moisture and mowing height on athlete performance and perceptions. Both studies will commence during 2022 and the results will be published in SportsField Management Magazine. The grant was made possible by a donation to SAFE from the North Carolina SFMA.