by Michele Coffill
photo by Valerie Wojciechowski

Football fans at Lubbers Stadium haven't missed a single play on the field this season, as the largest video display board for a Division II university has provided replays and game highlights at near-gigantic proportions. 

The video board debuted September 1 when the Lakers hosted Tiffin University, and fan reaction was nothing but enthusiastic. 

The north end zone video board is 40 feet tall and 72.5 feet wide, providing a display area of 2,900 square feet. Its resolution is 6 percent better than an HD television and it refreshes 100 times faster than standard TV.

It is nine times larger than the previous Lubbers Stadium board (16 feet by 24 feet), and deemed the 40th largest on-campus display board in the country. Funding for the board is generated through athletic corporate sponsorships.

A new scoreboard was also installed behind the student section; the board, 8 feet tall and 18 feet wide, displays score, time, down, distance and quarter.

Lubbers Stadium has led the nation in attendance for Division II football games for the last four years. With an official capacity of 10,444, Grand Valley hosted 74,187 fans in six home games in 2015, averaging 12,364 per game.

Video board by the numbers

• Largest board for Division II institution

• Third largest in Michigan

• 40th largest on-campus display board in U.S.

• Size: 40x72.5 feet, for display area of 2,900 square feet 

• Pixels: 977,408 (6 percent more resolution than HD TV)