When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks took the field for Super Bowl XL in Detroit, they were counting on the unique contributions of recent alumni of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. And, while they weren’t blocking or tackling, these Penn Staters had important roles for both teams.

The head groundskeeper for the Seahawks is a graduate of the college’s turfgrass programs, as are three of the grounds crew for the Steelers’ Heinz Field. A Penn Stater was also on the National Football League’s Super Bowl turf team, responsible for the playing surfaces for the game and for each team’s Detroit practice facility.

According to Andy McNitt, assistant professor of turfgrass science, having so many Penn Staters in on the Super Bowl action isn’t unusual. As home to one of the country’s top turf science and management programs, the university has alumni working with numerous professional football and baseball franchises, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and San Diego Padres.

Penn State turfgrass program graduates occupy some of the most prestigious jobs in the turfgrass industry, including positions as superintendents at 15 (including the top four) of Golf Digest’s top 25 U.S. golf courses. Penn State is an acknowledged world leader in the development of improved turfgrass varieties and other products, and Penn State–bred turfgrass varieties are used on 90 percent of all golf courses around the world.

“Traditionally, we’ve been very golf-oriented, but lots of things are applicable across the board,” McNitt says. “An insect is an insect, whether he’s chewing on golf turf or sports turf. A disease is a disease, fertilizer is fertilizer. But there’s a management aspect involved. For instance, soil physical properties are very important in football and, to some degree, baseball. The cuts that they make at high speed can just rip a field up. The physics of how a divot comes out and how the soil drains are critical in athletic field management.”

— Gary Abdullah