Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Between Jan. 28 and Feb. 5, Mississippi State senior Chris Fondren senior will be getting his hands dirty in Miami--not building sand castles on the beach, but with the National Football League grounds crew at Dolphin Stadium.
He will be working with the professionals to prepare the game field and practice facilities for Super Bowl LXI on the night of the 5th.
Fondren is getting the chance of a lifetime. A turf grass management major, the Old Hickory, Tenn., resident recently won the national 2007 Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Scholarship.
For the fifth year, the Minnesota-based international turf maintenance equipment and services company is collaborating with the Super Bowl grounds team to provide a highly specialized training opportunity for "an emerging sports turf professional." In addition to offering an intense learning experience in a key area of professional football's biggest day, the Toro scholarship program covers all travel expenses for the lucky student.
Fondren clearly fits the criteria for an emerging sport professional. Since enrolling in 2004, he has worked with MSU's athletic field grounds crew, been an active member of the campus Turf Club and, last year, was selected for a Mississippi Turfgrass Association scholarship.
He also has participated in the university's nationally recognized cooperative education program, alternating semesters between traditional classroom study and leadership-focused work experiences off campus.
Fondren's co-op assignments have included Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., spring training home of the world-champion St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins baseball teams, as well as the Marlins' farm team, the Jupiter Hammerheads. Last year, he traveled to the Bluegrass State to spend the summer working at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
The Toro scholarship competition requires entrants to detail their work experiences and write a 500-word essay describing immediate career goals.
In his essay, Fondren shared strong feelings for the career path he has chosen, stressing that "the person I am today was molded between the lines of the athletic field." He added: "Sports have created a life for me and I would like to provide a quality playing surface for others to pursue their dreams."
Fondren has played baseball and football most of his life. Before transferring to MSU in 2004 to pursue his academic major, he was a member of the Columbia (Tenn.) State Community College baseball team.
Associate professor Barry Stewart, a turf grass specialist in the department of plant and soil sciences, seconds Fondren's self-assessments. "Chris has shown a tremendous interest in sports turf since his first day at MSU," he said. "He is a leader among the athletic field students and is active in the Turf Club.
"He also is one of the most inquisitive turf majors we have had in the program," Stewart observed. "As he prepares to graduate, I have no doubt he will become a successful turf manager."
Before packing for South Florida, Fondren is spending this week in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to being recognized formally by Toro officials, he is part of a group from MSU attending the Sports Turf Managers Association's annual conference and exhibition.
While in Miami, Fondren will be working with NFL field manager Ed Mangan. He also will learn from veteran professional groundskeeper-turned-consultant George Toma, who has helped prepare every Super Bowl field since the first one in the mid 1960s.
NASHVILLE EDITORS: Fondren is the son of Mike and Ginger Fondren and a Hunters Lane High School graduate.
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NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: To reach Fondren, contact Dr. Stewart at 662-325-2725 or bastewar@pss.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.