Notre Dame, Penn State Proud of Their ROOTS They Don't Design the Plays and They Don't Write the Schedules, But
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¿p Notre Dame, Penn State Proud of Their ROOTS They don't design the plays and they don't write the schedules, but knowledgeable athletic field bmanagery Ron Hall, assistans do tthei editor r part to keep traditions alive. Major universities so proud of their have established successful mainte- of ducks, oblivious to the campus foot athletic traditions sometimes aren't nance programs. traffic, treat themselves to the refresh- eager to maintain the facilities, That's not the case everywhere. ingshower of a lawn sprinkler, but the including their turf fields, that helped The number of synthetic turf play- most relaxing location on this mid- in building the legends; but at Rockne ing fields outnumber natural turf summer scorcher is Harold "Bennie" Stadium at the University of Notre fields 56 to 48 in universities with Benninghoff's office in the belly of the Dame and Beaver Stadium at Penn Division 1-A football this season. Only University of Notre Dame Stadium. State University they do. Purdue in the Big Ten plays on grass, Benninghoff, literally working in the Athletes at both locations have Missouri in the Big Eight. PAC-10 shadow of the famed Golden Dome, is been playing on grass for generations, schools are split. comfortable in his role as keeper of the and it looks like they'll continue to do Fighting Irish turf. Easy going and so thanks to experienced Notre Dame resourceful, he goes about his job in a groundskeepers who care enough to It's hot in South Bend, IN, so hot a pair quiet, workmanlike manner. "If you find something that works, dent, has put together and uses an ath- why mess around with it?" Ben- letic field rennovation program that, ninghoff says of his unsophisticated according to an informal WTT survey, but practical maintanence program. It is gaining favor at other universities is the result of 20 years of tinkering at as well. Notre Dame's Rockne Stadium where "There are no secrets," Hudzik he's encountered everything from says, "and we're doing nothing diffi- fusarium blight to the handiwork of cult. It's just a matter of getting on the over zealous Air Force partisans who fields and getting to work. Our pro- initialed his stadium turf with a huge gram is very simple." "AF" the fall of 1983. The Penn State program begins in In addition to Rockne Stadium, the spring, as soon as workmen can get Benninghoff maintains approxi- on the fields. It has to. mately 40 acres of turf athletic fields Early each summer hundreds of and 24 tennis courts. eager youngsters arrive at State Col- He's taking a breather after meet- lege, PA, to participate in summer ing with a Sherwin Williams rep sports camps. The campus is host to concerning line marking paint to be three consecutive football camps, used on an artificial surface practice each with 750 to 800 students. That football field. Benninghoff is seeking gives the grounds crew about three a paint that'll last forever. He's not weeks from the end of intramural convinced there is such a paint, but sports to the beginning of the camps to he's looking. Later in the day he'll be pull the athletic grounds back performing surgery on a sprinkler together. head decapitated by a wayward Renovation of the turf at Beaver mower. Stadium begins at this time also to Benninghoff, in his own relaxed Harold Benninghoff, keeper of the dress up the stadium for graduation way, has tailored his program to fit his "Fighting Irish" turf. ceremonies. "When these students stadium's needs including applica- and their parents are here we want tion of Scott fertilizer (19-5-9) plus ninghoff to keep his program on this field looking as good as we can so schedule. we can leave them with a good mem- ory of the university," Hudzik notes. "If you find something Penn State program Early April sees the application of The stoop-shouldered hills of Central 3/A to one pound of 18-5-9 fertilizer per that works, why mess Pennsylvania are a patchwork quilt of 1,000 sq. ft. with a tractor drawn fall color but fog smothers the valleys cyclone spreader. An application of around with it?" as coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions straight urea provides a quick are just one day away from a loss to a greenup. struggling Crimson Tide in far-away Then Hudzik sees to it that athletic —Benninghoff Alabama. Bob Hudzik, the 30-year- fields are practically riddled with an old Penn State University Arien rennovator with 3/i tines. The groundskeeper—the experiment— fields are aerified at least eight times, fungicide on a periodic basis, aerifica- stays home. the stadium turf 10 times. tion with a 3/4-in. spoons at least four Home for him is either Beaver Sta- times (the most compacted areas six dium, the 80,000-plus seat monument Aerification vital times) annually, overseeding with a to the storied Lions, or one of two "If somebody asked me, 'what are the Jacobsen groove seeder, and the addi- Penn State golf courses. He's on the most important things you do to your tion of soil conditioners about twice a job early. He leaves late. fields?' I'd say aerification and phos- year. "I guess I was kind of an experi- phorus," Hudzik says. "Get the damn The field's surface is a mixture of ment," Hudzik says of the decision a fields aerified. Sure, it would be nice if Kentucky bluegrasses. few years back to put him in charge of you could aerify in the fall too, but a ''Every time they come up with a what is a pretty sizable hunk of real lot of the time you just can't do it new improved variety I try it," Ben- estate in the Nittany Valley. "Usually then." ninghoff says. "There might be seven in a case like this it's somebody that's A chainlink drag mat is used to or eight varieties on it." come up through the ranks, but I smooth the soil churned up by the Problems? Nothing major. guess they wanted to see if I could repeated aerifications. "We're always fighting compaction develop some new ideas." "People sometimes say to me, like they are at other fields and we Hudzik's responsibilities, in addi- 'well, I aerify and I still have prob- have had a grub problem, Japanese tion to Beaver Stadium and the two lems'," Hudzik adds. "Maybe what beetle and aetenius spretulus," he campus golf courses, include practice they're doing is slicing. You've got to says, "so we watch and try to take fields, recreation fields used for inter- remove a core to allow the soil preventative measures." murals, tennis courts, and even low around the hole to collapse. If you Installation of an underground maintenance fields used for parking. have the time to let the field recover, Toro sprinkler system two years ago Originally from a small Western just aerify the daylights out of it. It and the use of Rockne Stadium almost Pennsylvania community, the tall, might scare you, but if you have a exclusively for football allows Ben- thin Hudzik, a former Penn State stu- good overseeding program, you shouldn't have any problem at all." hamper the emergence of grass seed- Hudzik says not to underestimate lings. phosphorus either. His fields receive The Beaver Stadium turf gets a rest two pounds per 1,000 sq. ft. of triple after graduation. It's mowed three super phosphate in late May. times weekly, watered as-needed, "Phosphorus is essential. I would and treated with insecticides and use it in a renovation process even if fungicides "on a curative basis." For we weren't low on phosphorus. It's weed control Hudzik mixes 1 pound been proven that you can establish a 2,4-D, .55 pound MCPP, and .10 pound good, healthy stand of grass much of Diacamba. quicker with it. It's essential par- Early October sees the Beaver Sta- ticularly in developing a good root dium turf receiving another shot of system," he points out. nitrogen, but Hudzik says he's careful When overseeding, Hudzik not to overdo it. believes it's best to work in a crossing "You can make a field look super pattern. but when it comes to football you Using a groove seeder a mixture of three Kentucky bluegrasses (Baron, Fylking, and Touchdown) and two perenniel ryes (Pennfine and Manhat- "There are no ten) is applied in one direction, then secrets. It's just a Touchdown blue is sown perpen- dicular to the first mixture. matter of getting on "Even on the football practice field the fields and getting I try to get the bluegrass established because it'll take more of a beating," to work." Hudzik says, "but we know we don't have enough time to get bluegrass —Hudzik established on the intermural fields so we're putting a little extra rye on therm- don't want a super, lush growth. it's just after overseeding that a lot Those succulent grass blades will of the thatch is removed from the sta- tear," he explains. "You want it to dium turf, last spring three dump look good, but also you want the best truck loads. "The field's thin," playing conditions. You don't want to Hudzik admits. "It looks like a piece of combine excess nitrogen and warm swiss cheese, but it's got all summer to weather." recover." Taking care of Beaver Stadium Bare areas on the stadium floor are might be Hudzik's showcase, but he hydromulched ("if we put seed in it, doesn't see it as "any big deal." Get- Eliminate hose mess it's very little") to keep moisture in ting his renovation program under WT&T with Hannay Reels! and to prevent crusting which may way each spring is.