Boise State is known for their trademark blue surface, and the school intends to keep it that way. That is why when Brevard High School in North Carolina learned permission was not granted by Boise State to install a blue football field, but this was not quite a situation in which a big time college football program was cracking down on a high school. It turns out another college team also plays on the same field, and that is why Boise State will not allow for a blue field to be installed. It is all about protecting the brand.
The Idaho Statesman details the power Boise State has over any playing surface that is not the traditional green. Boise State owns a trademark on any non-green playing field in the country, which means any school or organization wishing to install a non-traditional playing field color must get approval from Boise State before doing so. The school has allowed others to install football fields in different colors, but only one other college or university has a blue playing field. That belongs to New Haven because built their field before Boise State gained the trademark for their blue field. In many cases Boise State has been accommodating, but the blue football field is their thing and it will remain that way as long as the school has the power.
“In general, when it’s another color, we do approve it,” Rachael Bickerton, the director of trademark licensing and enforcement at Boise State, told Idaho Statesman. “If a big school wants to put an orange field in, because it’s one of our colors, I can’t necessarily say we’d say yes.”
The news may have come with disappointment for Brevard High School, which had raised $19,000 to install a blue field, but head coach Jason Lippard is understanding of the reasoning behind decision.
“We had such big momentum for this project, and it was fairly easy to raise the funds,” Lippard said to Citizen Times. “But I understand where (Boise State) is coming from. We still think this is going to be one of the nicest fields in Western North Carolina, and our kids are excited about that.”