Hallmark’s Home Turf was filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Principal photography took place in March 2025 on the campus of Westminster University – a private liberal arts college in the city’s Sugar House neighbourhood. The fictional Whittendale College in Ohio exists only in the script; every exterior quad, athletic facility, and football field on screen is Westminster’s real campus.
Directed by Maclain Nelson and written by Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer, the movie stars Nikki DeLoach as Cassidy Miller, a small-college president whose orderly life unravels when a group of football freshmen move into her home – along with their charming coach, Logan (Warren Christie).
Where Was Home Turf Filmed? All Locations at a Glance
| Scene / Purpose | Real Filming Location | City & State |
|---|---|---|
| Campus exteriors, quads, Cassidy’s “college” world | Westminster University (Sugar House campus) | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Training sequences, locker-room scenes, indoor sports | Dolores Doré Eccles Health, Wellness & Athletic Center (HWAC) | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Football field & tailgate party (end of film) | Lehi High School (Lehi Pioneers field) | Lehi, Utah (near Salt Lake City) |
| Overall production county | Salt Lake County — Utah Film Commission incentive shoot | Utah |
Production employed 87 cast and crew members and generated approximately $2 million in local spending under Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Program (25% tax credit on qualified in-state spend).
Westminster University, Salt Lake City
Westminster University is a private liberal arts school founded in 1875 – originally as the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute. Its compact, brick-lined Sugar House campus stood in for the movie’s fictional Whittendale College in Ohio. The school rebranded from Westminster College to Westminster University in 2023, giving the campus a fresh look that matched the film’s contemporary setting.
Production used the campus’s tree-lined quads and historic buildings for nearly all of Cassidy’s day-to-day college president scenes. The school’s scale, small enough to feel intimate but built-out enough to read as a real institution, made it the natural choice over larger Utah university campuses.
Dolores Doré Eccles Health, Wellness & Athletic Center
Westminster’s HWAC is where the film’s sports storyline comes to life. The modern facility houses an aquatic centre, a climbing wall, a multi-purpose field house, and dedicated team spaces. Production used it for the football players’ training sequences, locker-room moments, and the indoor scenes where Cassidy and Logan’s worlds most directly collide.
From team meetings and football practices to emotional character moments, the center’s real facilities added authenticity to the sports storyline. It’s here that Cassidy and Logan’s worlds most often collide — and where the freshmen players learn about teamwork, discipline, and finding a home away from home.
Westminster mix of old-world architecture and contemporary student life made it a natural choice for Hallmark’s creative team. Some of the popular Hallmark productions that were shot in Salt Lake City includes:
- A Cozy Christmas Inn
- The Holiday Stocking,
- Christmas Under Wraps
- Branching Out
- Sweet Pecan Summer
- The Christmas Bow
- Sister Swap
- Love in the Limelight,
- Christmas Land, and
- Everything Christmas.
Lehi High School (The Tailgate Scene)
The climactic tailgate party at the end of the film was shot at Lehi High School, home of the Lehi Pioneers, roughly 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. Students and staff from the school served as extras. Nikki DeLoach told Entertainment Now that filming the scene ran late into the night, and the students stayed the whole time. “The people of Utah really showed up for us,” she said.
Behind the Scenes
Nikki DeLoach shared plenty of behind-the-scenes glimpses with fans on Instagram, showing just how much fun the cast had filming in Salt Lake City. In one post, she wrote: “I am all hands in for a good sports movie with a lot of heart, humor and romance. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t… wait to share our all new movie, Home Turf.”
In another playful post featuring her male co-stars, she captioned:
“Meet ‘The Hunks of Home Turf.’ I am the luckiest lady that I went to work every day with these gentlemen who came to play. Talented, funny, generous, kind, team players, all heart. I love them all so much and I know you will, too.”
And just days before the premiere, she posted a selfie with the caption:
“Coach DeLoach, here. Are you ready for some football? 🏈”
Why Utah and the incentives behind the shoot
State materials list Home Turf as a Hallmark Channel production produced by David Wulf and directed by Maclain Nelson. The film was approved for incentives as part of Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive program and was shot in Salt Lake County. The approvals were listed alongside other recent incentive recipients in official Utah Film Commission announcements.
Official board documents show the project’s production window and estimated local impact, generating approximately $2 million in local spending, and a maximum incentive of $500,000 (a 25% tax credit on qualified in-state spend).
The project was flagged as a Salt Lake County shoot that employed 87 cast and crew members during its six-month production schedule (March–September 2025). Those numbers explain why the production chose to film entirely in Utah — local crews, accessible locations, and most importantly, tax incentives.
Home Turf Cast
The film brings together a familiar Hallmark face and a solid supporting cast:
- Nikki DeLoach as Cassidy (college president)
- Warren Christie as Logan (the coach)
- Louis Boakye as Nick
- Tanner McKay as Malcolm
- Onias Snuka Ken
- Jess DelVizo as Zoe
- Timothy A. Threlfall as Leo Farnsworth
- Aja Rytting as Jeanine
Several supporting players and campus-type roles round out the cast (assistant coaches, students, professors, family members) to give the little college community a lived-in feeling. Full cast listings are available on Hallmark’s movie page and IMDb.
What’s the movie about?
Home Turf is a rom-com with a sports heart. Cassidy runs a small college and tries to keep campus life running smoothly — until a group of football freshmen move into her home and turn her world upside down. Logan, the coach, becomes the calming (and handsome) presence who helps negotiate dorm drama, school politics, and a few unexpected romances. Hallmark teases a story with “heart, humor and romance” and a healthy dose of sports puns.
How to watch Home Turf?
Home Turf premieres on Friday, October 4, 2025, at 8/7c on the Hallmark Channel as part of the network’s Fall Into Love programming event. The film will re-air on:
- October 5, 2025 at 6/5c
- October 8, 2025 at 8/7c
- October 14, 2025 at 6/5c
- August 22, 2026 at 4/3c
- September 9, 2026 at 4/3c
With a story full of heart, humor, and touchdowns – and a campus backdrop steeped in 150 years of tradition, Home Turf is a perfect kickoff to Hallmark’s fall movie season. Whether you’re a football fan, a romance lover, or both, this new movie is a must-watch.
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