The Turf at Texas Tech

By Karen Stretch, regional editor

Cory Herpel,athletic foreman, checks the turf for several different things at one time. He checks the root system, the dampness to see if there is any type of fungus growing and if there are grub worms that need to be treated (there was an infestation elsewhere on campus so the crew has been watching the fields closely). By doing this in several different locations across the field, Herpel can get a pretty good idea of how the field is doing just by getting hands-on with the turf.

Forty years ago, Dewey Shroyer graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock with a bachelor?EUR??,,????'???s degree in park administration. He didn?EUR??,,????'???t go far geographically after graduation, in fact, he stayed right where he was and began working as a supervisor at the university. At the time, Shroyer was only planning to work at Texas Tech for one year. Well, he?EUR??,,????'???s ended up staying 39 more years than he originally planned, held four different titles and couldn?EUR??,,????'???t be happier.

Shroyer, managing director of the grounds department, went on to get a master?EUR??,,????'???s degree in park administration, which eventually became a landscape architecture degree in 1970 (Shroyer is a registered landscape architect in the state of Texas). With 29,500 students on campus, Shroyer and his crew have their work cut out for them. The maintenance department at Texas Tech is made up of 101 people and has an annual budget of $3 million. Out of that $3 million, $114,000 is allotted for maintaining the 25-acres of athletic fields. Like Shroyer, foreman Cory Herpel is a graduate of Texas Tech. He earned his bachelor?EUR??,,????'???s degree in environmental conservation and is currently working to finish his master?EUR??,,????'???s degree in horticulture with an emphasis in turfgrass. As an undergrad, Herpel got into the turf program part-time and thoroughly enjoyed himself. For the first year and a half of his master?EUR??,,????'???s program, Herpel worked with the Texas Tech football team taking care of their practice facilities. He changed gears slightly and for the last two months has been working with the grounds department at the athletic fields. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s going good so far,?EUR??,,????'?? said Herpel. ?EUR??,,????'??It was kind of overwhelming at first, I went from taking care of 3-acres to taking care of 25-acres in one week.?EUR??,,????'??

Fertilizing the Fields

All of the fertilizer applied to the athletic fields is based on yearly soil testing. This year they are using an 18-6-12 blend as the main fertilizer. When the fields are seeded with ryegrass in September, a half-pound of nitrogen is put down per 1,000 sq. ft. per month until December when the temperature drops off. They resume the fertilizing schedule around February or early March. Herbicides and pesticides are applied on an as-needed basis by a licensed applicator. According to Shroyer, the main pests they deal with are fire ants, grubs, nutsedge, crabgrass and khaki weed.

For areas outside of the athletic fields, the department uses a Honda walk behind mower and Stihl two-cycle equipment for edgers, string trimmers and blowers.

 

Crew member Leopoldo Jimenez mows the grass at Texas Tech using a Hustler mower.

Seeding

In the summer, the fields are seeded with a combination of Bermuda hybrid and common Bermuda. In the fall they overseed with ryegrass. Before the field is overseeded in the fall, it is aerated using a Vertidrain unit with solid tines that is pulled behind their Kobota 50HP tractor. The fields are also aerated during the spring after they transition the rye and once again during the summer.

During the winter months the mow height is set at an inch and mowing is backed off to twice a week, but depending on games, it may get mowed more often.

In the distance, a crew member mows the baseball field. The crew uses a Jacobsen LS3800 five-gang reel mower set at three quarters of an inch and mows the bermudagrass at least three times a week during warm months.

Mowing

The crew uses a Jacobsen LS3800 five-gang reel mower set at three quarters of an inch and mow at least three times during warmer months. In the winter, the mow height is an inch and is backed off to twice a week, but depending on games, it may get mowed more often. Student recreation fields are mowed using a Jacobsen S10 seven-gang reel mower and a Hustler 4600. For smaller jobs, the department uses a Honda push mower, Stihl two-cycle equipment for edgers, string trimmers and blowers.

In front of the football practice field is the athletic training center, the sides of which are sloped more than 26 degrees.

?EUR??,,????'??The rewarding thing to me is when on a game day you look at the field and can say, ?EUR??,,????'??My crew and I did that.?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'?? ?EUR??,,????'??+Cory Herpel, foreman, Texas Tech University

Irrigation

Hunter I25s are used to irrigate the fields. Herpel says the nozzle sizes change depending on the design. They try to water using the ?EUR??,,????'??deep and infrequent theory.?EUR??,,????'?? The deep and infrequent theory is simple. Irrigation is scheduled as infrequent as possible with large amounts of water during each irrigation event (making sure there is no excess runoff). This irrigation schedule promotes very a deep root system. Shallow frequent irrigation promotes a shallow root system. The shallow root system makes the turf more susceptible to drought damage. Deep and infrequent irrigation is critical for turfgrass survival through drought years.

During the summer, the fields are seeded with a combination of Bermuda hybrid and common Bermuda. In the fall they overseed with ryegrass. Before the fields are overseeded, they are aerated using a Vertidrain unit with solid tines that is pulled behind their Kobota 50HP tractor. The fields are aerated during the spring after they transition the rye and once again during the summer.

All In a Days Work

Maintaining the sports fields is not the only job the crew is in charge of?EUR??,,????'??+far from it in fact. The campus has grown significantly from 240-acres to 1,200-acres. A lawn mower used to be the only mode of transportation the crew needed to get anywhere on the campus. Now they have a fleet of vehicles and use trailers to transport their mowers between locations such as the university medical centers, law school and air base. Shroyer feels that working around young people for so many years has helped to keep him young. But having so many students on campus can present a challenge. ?EUR??,,????'??We have to schedule around times of classes so as not to interfere,?EUR??,,????'?? said Shroyer. ?EUR??,,????'??It takes a master juggler to keep things going.?EUR??,,????'??

Foreman Cory Herpel waters down the athletic field by hand. However, the fields are usually irrigated using Hunter I25s.

The Masked Rider

The Masked Rider is one of the mascots of Texas Tech University and its sports teams known as the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It is the oldest of the university’s mascots still in existence today. Originally called “Ghost Rider,” it was an unofficial mascot appearing in just a few games in 1936 before becoming the official mascot for the 1954 Gator Bowl. The Masked Rider has led the team onto the field at nearly every football game since. This was the nation’s first horse ridden mascot used in football games. The Masked Rider dresses from head to toe in black, including a black cowboy hat and a black mask. The only color to the costume is the scarlet rider’s cape. The currently serving horse is also black, though previous horses have been other colors. In 1936 the first rider, George Tate (class of 1937), led the football team onto the football field. Tate, whose identity was kept a secret at the time, was wearing a scarlet satin cape made by the Home Economics Department. He had borrowed a horse from the Tech barn as a prank. Tate was quoted in the Nov. 4, 1984 issue of The Dallas Morning News as saying that Arch Lamb, who was then the head yell leader of the Saddle Tramps, “dreamed up this Red Raider thing.” The prank was pulled a few more times that season but didn’t surface again until the 1950s, when another Tech student was approached about creating a mascot. In 1953 Texas Tech football coach DeWitt Weaver approached a student named Joe Kirk Fulton about becoming The Masked Rider. DeWitt’s Red Raiders were 10-1-0 and headed to Jacksonville, Fla. for the Gator Bowl. At the time, Texas Tech was hoping to be invited to join the new Southwest Conference. All the other teams had a mascot, and it is thought that DeWitt believed creating a mascot for Texas Tech might aid the school’s chances for admission into the conference. Fulton agreed to ride a horse named Blackie in the bowl game. According to reports from those present at the 1954 Gator Bowl, the crowd sat in stunned silence as they watched Fulton and Blackie rush onto the football field, followed by the team. After a few moments of stunned disbelief, the silent crowd burst into cheers. Ed Danforth, a writer for the Atlanta Journal and a press box spectator later wrote, “No team in any bowl game ever made a more sensational entrance.”
Wikipedia