Fields of Ivy - Yale University

By Kevin Burrows, regional editor

Briefly the home of the New York Giants from 1973?EUR??,,????'???1974 while Yankee Stadium was being renovated and Giants Stadium was under construction, the Yale Bowl has many famous design elements, notably the scoreboard clock arranged vertically instead of horizontally. After every football game the natural grass playing field is hand-raked and the divots are replaced. While most fields will belly or flatten out over time, this practice has preserved a uniform surface and prevented the need for re-sodding for over three years.

Yale University in New Haven, Conn. is one America?EUR??,,????'???s oldest and most prestigious collegiate institutions. While it is world-renowned for academics, the school?EUR??,,????'???s athletic fields have their own tradition-rich reputation. The centerpiece of this history and home to the football team is the Yale Bowl. Completed in 1914 and currently with a seating capacity of just over 64,000, it is the nation?EUR??,,????'???s first ?EUR??,,????'??bowl?EUR??,,????'?? stadium, providing a model for the Rose Bowl and Los Angeles Coliseum.

While the Yale Bowl is the showpiece for the school?EUR??,,????'???s sports complex, it only makes up a portion of the athletic surfaces on campus. The crew maintains 60 acres of sports turf, both natural and artificial, encompassing a number of Division I game and practice fields. Furthermore, there are fields specifically for club and intramural sports such as polo, ultimate Frisbee, lacrosse, soccer, softball and baseball.

 

The Yale sports turf crew uses this Toro Groundsmaster 580 D to mow the intramural fields once a week at a height of two inches. Three Toro Reelmaster 4500 D mowers are used on the varsity game and practice fields twice a week and on game days at a height of 1.5 inches. The polo fields are mowed twice a week as well, but a height of 7/8 of an inch.

The Superintendent

The Sports Turf Supervisor at Yale is Tom Pepe. Raised in Connecticut, he has been around turf all of his life. His grandfather was a farmer and his father worked at the Assistant Landscape Superintendent at the Woodbridge Country Club for 42 years. Inheriting their love of the land, Pepe studied turf management at the University of Massachusetts and embarked on a 40-year career (and counting) in the field?EUR??,,????'???the last 22 at Yale. His son has since followed in his footsteps at UMass, and recently took a job as Assistant Landscape Superintendent at Trump National Golf Course. Needless to say, turfgrass is in the Pepe blood.

Crew

With only nine members, Pepe?EUR??,,????'???s landscaping crew is relatively small, thus making them extremely busy.

In addition to keeping fields playable for spring and fall sports, the staff also maintains a number of facilities for neighborhood usage year round. ?EUR??,,????'??Since Yale is very community-minded, they are very committed to outside youth groups,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. Because of the many fields under their care, ?EUR??,,????'??the crew averages over 200 hours a year in overtime,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??They check on the fields and irrigation systems on nights and weekends. With such heavy usage, they always have something to do.?EUR??,,????'??

Yale?EUR??,,????'???s groundskeepers perform aerifying in May and August in an effort to avoid the main playing seasons. They overseed all of the playing surfaces with bluegrass. In the fall during the football season, perennial rye mix is used for divot repair. ?EUR??,,????'??We do have budget restrictions,?EUR??,,????'?? said Tom Pepe, Sports Turf Supervisor. ?EUR??,,????'??So we keep overseeding often and watch our water management.?EUR??,,????'??

Turf Management

To keep the natural playing surface in the Yale Bowl in pristine condition, the staff aerates the soil and performs sand-top dressing.

By doing this after every game, the surface has been kept very true and the grade has not changed. While most fields will belly or flatten out over time, the Yale Bowl has kept a uniform surface, requiring minimal sodding. ?EUR??,,????'??We haven?EUR??,,????'???t had to sod our football field in three or four years,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. ?EUR??,,????'??The areas that we do sod would be soccer and lacrosse goal creases.?EUR??,,????'??

While the Yale Bowl is the showpiece for the school?EUR??,,????'???s sports complex, it only makes up a portion of the athletic surfaces on campus. The crew maintains 60 acres of sports turf, both natural and artificial, encompassing a number of Division I game and practice fields. Furthermore, there are facilities for club and intramural sports such as tennis, polo, ultimate Frisbee, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and baseball.

Aerifying/Overseeding

The staff performs aerifying in May and August in an effort to avoid the main playing seasons. They overseed all of the playing surfaces with bluegrass. In the fall during the football season, perennial rye mix is used for divot repair.

?EUR??,,????'??We do have budget restrictions,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. So we keep overseeding often and watch our water management.?EUR??,,????'??

Chemicals/Fertilizer

Giving the varsity sports fields a professional look and feel on game day requires chemical application. The staff utilizes a fungicide program for weed and insect control. In an effort to spray when athletes are not around, chemicals are predominately applied in June and July, occasionally overlapping into August. ?EUR??,,????'??We don?EUR??,,????'???t use any pre-emergents in the spring,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe.

Three and a half pounds of fertilizer are applied on the 60 acres annually. ?EUR??,,????'??We use roughly about half a pound every four weeks,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. ?EUR??,,????'??Applications are a little lighter in the summer.?EUR??,,????'??

Sports Turf Supervisor Tom Pepe and Master Gardener Jon Mroz stand in front of a Toro MultiPro 1250 sprayer inside the Yale Bowl. Mroz sprays the turf with a fungicide for weed and insect control predominately in June and July, occasionally overlapping into August when athletes are not around. Rather than using any pre-emergents in the spring, a half-rate broadleaf blend is applied, as well as Merit for insect control.

Irrigation

To keep the playing fields watered throughout the year, especially during the dog days of summer, a Hunter irrigation system is in place. Actually, six independent systems are on the property, with six controllers, and six pumps using city water. ?EUR??,,????'??When I first got here we were using a lot of snap valve irrigation,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. ?EUR??,,????'??Now we are wall-to-wall automatic.?EUR??,,????'??

Equipment

The staff uses three Toro Reelmaster 4500 D mowers on the varsity game and practice fields, while a Toro Groundsmaster 580 D is used on the intramural fields. Three Toro Groundsmaster 328 D mowers can also be found in the garage. A Cushman GA-60 aerator that was added to the stable a few years ago for the sports fields. ?EUR??,,????'??We like the aerator a lot,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. ?EUR??,,????'??We send that out and overseed behind it.?EUR??,,????'?? In addition, the crew also utilizes a Toro 15ft. boom sprayer as well as a Lely pull-behind fertilizer sprayer. Due to budget constraints, nearly all of the machine maintenance is done in-house.

Artificial fields have replaced natural grass on many of Yale?EUR??,,????'???s sports fields. This has solved a number of the problems that come along with natural grass surfaces, most notably overuse. Currently the varsity field hockey, women?EUR??,,????'???s lacrosse, and new soccer/lacrosse stadium (shown here) all have artificial playing surfaces.

Field Marking

A unique tool that athletic field superintendents employ is the line marking machine. Yale employs a number of them including three Smithco marking machines, three Jaydee marking machines, two Kromer riding marking machines, and a Graco FieldLazer. Pepe is especially fond of the Graco machine, saying ?EUR??,,????'??it allows us to put out straight paint without cutting it with water.?EUR??,,????'??

Using Gold Coast marking paint, it takes three people four to five hours to mark the football field. ?EUR??,,????'??A lot of that is set-up and cleaning of the paint machines,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. ?EUR??,,????'??To remark or do touchups it normally takes under an hour.?EUR??,,????'??

Challenges

?EUR??,,????'??The crew accomplishes a lot with the budget we have,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pepe. ?EUR??,,????'??A lot of people think Yale?EUR??,,????'???they assume the sky?EUR??,,????'???s the limit when it comes to funding, but that?EUR??,,????'???s not true.?EUR??,,????'??

I?EUR??,,????'???m old school, but I?EUR??,,????'???ll tell you the future is there. It?EUR??,,????'???s obvious. The philosophy becomes very different. Overuse is a problem but once you have artificial turf?EUR??,,????'???the more you use it the more it pays for itself. It?EUR??,,????'???s here to stay.?EUR??,,????'??