Border War Heats Up Early

Fort Collins - Colorado State University Director of Athletics Mark Driscoll said today that vandals sprayed a chemical compound on a small portion of the playing surface at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium.

"In the past 48 hours, it has become apparent that vandals gained entrance into the stadium, and sprayed a chemical compound on the field," said Driscoll. "Our grounds crew has been working diligently to rectify the situation."

Driscoll said turf specialists from the faculty at CSU along with grounds crew personnel treated the area, which was sprayed in letters forming a "U" and "W" in two places on the field. The areas are estimated to be 30 feet tall and 75 feet wide.

He said the chemical compound has had a noticeable affect on the color of the turf. Grounds crew personnel will work the next two days leading up to Friday night's 7:30 game between CSU and Wyoming on ESPN2 to neutralize the affects of the chemical spray.

Driscoll said the vandalism in no way affects the surface's integrity for the contest.