Miller-Ranch Stadium set to finally get new turf field after several years of lost home games

It’s a gamechanger in more ways than one for the Idaho State softball program and head coach Andy Rich.

Last Wednesday afternoon, they got word that a combined $600,000 donation had been made to pay for the installation of a new all-weather turf field at Miller-Ranch Stadium in time for the 2025 campaign.

It is the largest contribution to softball since the program was restarted 14 years ago.

"It's huge. We were the last team in the country to play a home game," said ISU Athletic Director Pauline Thiros about the softball team only being able to play four home games last season. "This season, we obviously lost a lot of games to weather and the season before we lost I think 17 games to weather. It was just really unfortunate for our student-athletes that it happened because they only get one shot at this. So this was a major priority for us."

Direct Communications, an internet company based out of Rockland, and Idaho State alum Sylvia Papenberg donated the money to finance the university's latest venture.

Direct Communications provided the bulk of the capital at $500,000. So the field itself will be named "Direct Communications Field" for the life of the turf, which will be a brown color to represent dirt, while the outfield will don the traditional green colored turf.

Construction will begin next week and will take six to eight weeks to complete, according to Thiros.

"We pitched it to several organizations and we were so grateful that Direct Communications came forward and said, 'We want to make this happen for the student-athletes and for our community,'" said Thiros who noted they pitched this to several different potential partners over the last year. "I mean what tremendous partners."

The turf field will enable ISU softball to combat the difficult weather conditions that have plagued the program over the last few years.

Because of the consistently bad spring weather the program was only able to play six homes games − if you count last spring's Big Sky Conference Tournament − in each of the last two seasons. It was by far the fewest in the league.

This past spring, the weather was so bad that ISU did not play its first home game until the final week of April against Weber State. The University of Montana, meanwhile, played 21 home games even though the weather in Missoula was just as bad as in Pocatello.

The difference?

The Grizzlies had a turf field.

A turf field can handle rain and snow better than a grass field. It can be cleaned easier when it does snow and water drains better on it. This will permit games to be played, where as in past, they would have to be cancelled. It also reduces water consumption and is easier to maintain.

It does change the game itself, as well.

Ground balls bounce truer on turf, bad hops are virtually unknown. Balls also tend to pick up speed when bouncing off it, so the positioning of fielders is even more crucial. And on those rare spring days when it is warm, a turf field holds the heat. Turf fields are generally 10-20 degrees hotter than natural grass surfaces.

“It just makes it easier to play on,” Rich said. “Fielders can play with more range, especially on the infield because they know they will be getting a true bounce on any ball hit their way.”

While playing on turf does change the game, and traditionalists may not care for it, that is a small price to play for a program that simply had to play the vast majority of their games either on the road or at neutral sites last season.

“This gift from Direct Communications will have such a huge impact on our program," Rich said. "Getting a turf field installed has been on the top of my list since I got to Idaho State in 2021 and to see it realized because of such a special set of people, is truly amazing.”

Rich also talked about the impact of what having more home games will have on everyone.

“Next yea, we hope to have around 16 home games, six Big Sky games and the other 10 nonconference. To be able to basically triple the number of home games is huge from what we’ve had in the past," he said. "It means our players can sleep in their own beds more, they’ll miss less class time and it will actually give the community and our fans more chances to see us.”

Thiros echoed his sediments.

"We are incredibly grateful to Tim and Elaine May for their generosity. Direct Communications Field will not only elevate our student-athletes' experience, but also reflects the strength and importance of our ongoing partnership with Direct Communications," said Thiros who added that this move will allow the program to finally be able to host fall ball and preseason tournament games of its own. "Their continued support is transformational and we look forward to the many opportunities this collaboration will bring to our university and community. There is no better softball venue in the Big Sky Conference and we cannot wait to show it off in person.”

This was the final piece to be added to the improvements at Miller-Ranch Stadium over the past six months.

Already in place were a new cement backstop adorned with branded padding, ISU-themed wind screens along the outfield fence, the installation of new protective netting behind home plate, a renovated press box and a Daktronics videoboard. Counting the turf donation, over $1.1 million dollars has been invested in the program during that time period.

"This is the only fully turfed softball field in the state of Idaho," Thiros said. "We're going to welcome camps, we're going to welcome youth tournaments, we're going to be able to do a lot of things for the greater community in this sport that has taken off in Idaho way more than we could do prior to having the field."