The Toro Company is pleased to recognize this year’s initiate to the annual Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Program. Kevin Hansen, a horticulture major at Iowa State University, will be on hand in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII to assist the grounds crew in preparation for the football game that will determine the top team in the National Football League (NFL).
Since 1967, Toro has been a strategic partner of the NFL, providing equipment to prepare the game field and multiple practice fields leading up to the biggest football game of the year. In 2003, Toro and the NFL established the Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Program. Developed to recognize one student who has shown exemplary skill in turf management, the program also encourages emerging sports turf professionals to practice their craft by assisting the grounds for this extremely high-profile game.
Toro is proud to offer this unique learning experience, and the program recipient, Kevin Hansen, is thrilled to be part of the 2013 Super Bowl. “Participating in the Super Bowl is an amazing opportunity that I cannot even fathom at this point,” explains Hansen. “I can’t wait to meet the NFL turf consultants and staff that make the Super Bowl come together.”
A Boone, Iowa native, Hansen has been instrumental in managing some notable fields in the Midwest, including Principal Park (the home of the Iowa Cubs minor league baseball team), Lambeau Field (home of the Green Bay Packers), and the award-winning Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa (home of the Iowa State Cyclones). To be considered for the program, applicants had to undergo a comprehensive application process, and thanks to his impressive work history, Hansen was selected from a large pool of talented candidates.
Dale Getz, CSFM, Sports Fields and Grounds Sales Manager at Toro, explains the idea behind the program. “Through this partnership, Toro and the NFL have shown their commitment to developing talent in the industry by running the Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Program,” he says. “By providing scholarships and educational programs like this, we can ensure that emerging turf professionals have an opportunity to develop their skills.”
This is the 11th year that Toro and the NFL have provided this opportunity for students in the field of turf management.
“This is a very exciting time of year for all of us here at Toro,” explains Getz, “We are extremely impressed with the judging panel’s choice, and know that Mr. Hansen will have a once-in-a-lifetime experience in New Orleans this February.”