There has already been a new look for the Lincoln football team this season, with a new coaching staff and several new players.
Now the Blue Tigers get to show off the new look of their home field in Saturday's home opener.
Dwight T. Reed Stadium, which was built in 1970, will host its first night game since that decade when the Blue Tigers face the Lincoln (Pa.) Lions in the Battle of the Lincolns. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
"We're very pleased with the final product," Lincoln athletic director John Moseley said.
A new - and brighter - lighting system installed this summer allows Lincoln a chance to play twice this fall in the evening, as opposed to its usual afternoon start time.
"It's going to be a tremendous asset, especially when you're used to the Missouri Septembers, which can sometimes be really brutal," Moseley said. "We're experiencing great weather right now, but we've had 2 p.m. kickoffs where it's 95 degrees. They're no fun for anybody.
"Having this flexibility now is quite an asset for us."
The new lights are one of a few new changes to the stadium this fall.
"We didn't take baby steps," Moseley said. "We jumped on in and made significant changes."
The grass playing surface has been replaced with artificial turf, with the Blue Tiger logo at the 50-yard line and the school name in both end zones.
"The field looks great, regardless of what time of year you walk out there," Moseley said. "From a recruiting standpoint, for not only our athletic department but for our university, the improvement in facilities is going to have a tremendous impact on young people who are looking for a place to continue their education."
ATG Sports of Festus was in charge of construction on the field, which Moseley said was turned over to Lincoln on Tuesday.
Since then, the Blue Tigers have been practicing on the new turf instead of on their practice field located north of the stadium. The team practiced Thursday night, as opposed to the afternoon, to get acclimated to playing under the new lights.
"The new facilities just tell you how much the administration and athletic department is involved in football," Lincoln football coach Steven Smith said. "With the new facilities, we need to put a team on the field that's going to succeed.
"They've put their part in, now it's time for us to do our part."
The turf field also allows Lincoln to practice on campus during inclement weather. During rainy weeks in the past, the Blue Tigers practiced at Blair Oaks' Falcon Athletic Complex when the Lincoln practice field was too wet.
"We greatly appreciate the courtesy Blair Oaks has extended us, but it's great now to have the same flexibility to practice here at home," Moseley said. "It's quite an upgrade for us."
Lincoln also had lines for a regulation soccer field placed on the new turf for intramural athletics. Moseley said it's also an opportunity for the school to host other community events.
"I wanted to have a vision for what's possible," Moseley said. "I don't expect that Lincoln will add soccer, but if we do, the practice football field is actually a regulation-size soccer field."
Fans will also notice a new scoreboard located behind the south end zone at the stadium, replacing the old scoreboard that stood across the field near the 50-yard line.
"The scoreboard was probably one of my favorite things to see come down," Moseley said. "The scoreboard that we had, it definitely lived its life, and it was time to move on."
The new digital scoreboard will also contain a video board, which Moseley said will give the university a chance to feature commercials for its sponsors.
The Blue Tigers will also enter the field from a new location. Lincoln's new locker rooms and coaches' office - which were worked on by Sircal Contracting of Jefferson City - are located in the lower level of The Linc. Players will enter the field from the east from the new locker rooms, and the visiting teams will take over Lincoln's former locker room located under the grandstand.
"It's a night-and-day difference between what we had prior and what our student-athletes and coaches are fortunate enough to have right now," Moseley said.
The facility upgrades were made possible by the new student fees, which Lincoln began implementing during the 2016-17 school year. The fees go toward athletic facility upgrades and athletic scholarships.
"Our students at Lincoln University stepped up and asked for better facilities and a better experience for our football players and men's and women's track," Moseley said.
In addition to repainting the track during the renovation, the jumping pits have been moved just north of the track surface. Moseley said the throwing events - discuss, hammer throw and shot put - will be moved to the area beyond the softball field.
"We have drawings, but that's probably Phase 2 of our project and down the road," Moseley said.
"We're nowhere near a finished product at Lincoln University. Steps have been taken to get us in the right direction. Now it's our job to appreciate what we have, while also looking ahead to see what we can do to continue to give our student-athletes, students, fans and alumni something they can all be proud of."