MSU's Amy Fouty gives TPI guests a look at a great football field
11 Aug, 2009 By: Jim Novak, Turfgrass Producers International Athletic Turf NewsEAST LANSING, MI — When Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) held its Summer Convention & Field Days on the campus of Michigan State University last month those in attendance benefited in a number of ways. They
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not only had an opportunity to visit one of the nation's most prestigious universities but also the first land grant university in the United States. They also had a chance to visit MSU's impressive Turfgrass Information Center and got a hands-on introduction to the Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) database which houses the largest electronic library in the world of turfgrass related research and periodicals some of which date back to the 19th century.
But perhaps the most memorable experience for many in attendance was a visit to Spartan Stadium to meet with Amy Fouty, CSFM. She is MSU's athletic turf manager and is responsible for the Spartan Stadium field, the football practice complex and oversees the athletic field construction for the intercollegiate athletic department.
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Fouty explained that natural grass replaced artificial turf in Spartan Stadium in 2002 after a 33-year absence. The field is comprised of a unique square turfgrass module system based on designs by MSU turfgrass management program professors and students.
The Spartan Stadium modular system is the second generation of modules used by MSU in an athletic field project. The first generation of Hexagon shaped modules was originally developed for use in the Pontiac Silverdome during the 1994 World Cup. The new playing surface, planted in May of 2001 at MSU's Hancock Turfgrass Research Center is comprised of a blend of nine varieties of Kentucky bluegrass and is made up of 4,800 modules.
Fouty says it's a year-round job and one in which she takes exceptional pride of ownership. While her primary commitment is to provide a safe and playable field, she is also environmentally conscious and takes a progressive, yet fundamental, approach to turf management.
The field is aerated three times a year disrupting 30% of the surface area and fertilizer is used sparingly. When application rates are calculated across the 75,000 sq.-ft. football field for a year, it amounts to about 4 lbs. of nitrogen , one pound of phosphorus and 10 lbs. of potassium per 1, 000 sq. ft.
How well is the field cared for? They have never had to replace a single module since they were installed in '02 which is testament to the progressive approach to turfgrass management that is practiced at MSU. ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Spartan Stadium No. 8 on his list of the nation's most scenic venues. In 2005, the natural grass playing surface in Spartan Stadium earned Collegiate Football Field of the Year honors from the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA). Chinese officials were so impressed with the success at Spartan Stadium that they called upon Michigan State University's renowned turf scientists to build and manage over 5,000 modules of Kentucky bluegrass for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing's National Stadium.
During her address before turfgrass producers from around the world, Fouty said that today's turf managers gaining valuable technical knowledge at some of the nation's top universities and community colleges, instead of having to learn everything by trial and error.
"Where there were once self-taught field staff maintaining sports fields there are now a growing number of sports turf professionals who have college degrees in turfgrass management and master's degrees in sports administration.
The importance of this profession, whether you are responsible for a neighborhood pewee football field or oversee a professional sports field is the same, safety for the participants. We take tremendous pride in our profession and the high visibility it gets requires more and more understanding and time each year as expectations for the venues grow," she said.
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