By John Kmitta
Rising Star Award Winner Danny Losito, CSFM, is at the top of the game. As director of sports fields and grounds for Tepper Sports and Entertainment, Losito oversees Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as the practice facilities for the stadium’s tenants – the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer.
Despite having already attained such a coveted position in professional sports, Losito pursued – and attained – CSFM certification from SFMA in 2023.
“If you’re at this level, it’s not about you,” said Losito. “It’s about pushing the industry forward and trying to increase professionalism standards. It’s easy to just go to work and do your job and not care about the industry. But I like the industry; I like to network and I love the people who are in it. It’s a way for me to stay involved, keep myself accountable and set an example for people.”
Losito also stays involved in the industry by helping his peers with NFL International Series games and preparation for the Super Bowl. He helped launch a co-op internship program in North Carolina and hosts young professionals and students, such as those from the Brentsville HS Turfgrass Management Program, at his facility.
“You get high school kids who don’t know yet if they want to work in turf,” he said. “A lot of them don’t end up in turf, which is okay. What I like is that they’re aware that this is an industry. They might go on to work in sports or at a facility. They may not be a groundskeeper, but they know the effort and the hard work that goes into it. And that’s awareness, that’s respect, and that goes a long way in spreading awareness of the industry in general.”
In addition to hosting students at the facility, Losito also brings in outside contractors, industry peers and other groundskeepers of all skill sets, levels and sports as a labor source.
“We don’t use a part-time staff, and I don’t have a game day crew. When we get into conversions from sport to sport or sport to concert, we use peers,” he said.
Based on the strength of those connections, Losito’s advice to others is, “Don’t be afraid to network. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people. Don’t be afraid to try new things. And don’t be afraid to move around.”
That last piece of advice is something Losito learned from SFMA Past-President Jimmy Simpson, CSFM. It is advice that led Losito, who wanted to be in professional sports, on his coast-to-coast journey through the sports field management industry.
A native of Cary, North Carolina, Losito’s original career plans were far from sports field management. But an interest in art spurred thoughts of a career in architecture then the idea of landscape architecture, which in a roundabout way led to realizing sports field management is a career option.
After two years at Wake Tech Community College, Losito went on to NC State for a degree in turfgrass science. During college he did an internship with USA Baseball (in Cary, North Carolina) under Simpson, and followed that up with an internship for the Washington Nationals.
Upon graduation from NC State, Losito wanted to broaden his skill set, work with different turfgrass types and under different event loads. So, he journeyed to San Diego and took a seasonal position with the Padres, experiencing the grind of an MLB season. From there, he shifted to Minor League Baseball and a position with the Reno Aces working for Joe Hill, who Losito credits with teaching him about the people side of the business.
Following his stint with the Aces, Losito took the head groundskeeper job with the Columbia Fireflies – a position he deems the single most important move of his career.
“It allowed me to prove to myself that I can do it on my own,” he said. “Have all the management, the weight, the pressure and start to learn how to manage the business and manage the people. It tested me physically and mentally.”
Having experienced the heavy lift of Minor League Baseball, Losito was then offered a first assistant position at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and headed back to the West Coast to manage the fields for the USC Trojans and Los Angeles Rams.
“All those moves were moving upward, expanding skill set experience and chasing a more well-rounded resume,” said Losito. “I went there with the intent of working football for a while and seeing where it took me.”
Where it took him was back home to North Carolina and a first assistant position with the Carolina Panthers under longtime head groundskeeper Tom Vaughan. Losito served in that role from 2020 until April 2022, at which time he was promoted to his current position as director of sports fields and grounds. He now oversees all sports field and landscape operations for Bank of America Stadium, as well as natural grass fields at the Panthers practice facility, four natural grass and two synthetic turf fields at the Charlotte FC training facility and a new Panthers indoor fieldhouse that is coming next year.
According to Losito, balancing the overlap of the NFL and MLS seasons can be tricky. What makes that challenge more manageable is the 11 skilled full-time staff members on his crew.
“We have three managers – one for each property – a coordinator at each site, and then a crew of assistants at each as well,” he said. “We have four at soccer and, with me, we have eight at the stadium and practice fields. We are all one department over two campuses. When we need to help each other or when we need excess labor, we can all come together as a group of 12 or we can split up into groups of four or eight.”
In addition to his crew, Losito also cares for their “shop cat,” affectionately named Little Purr (or LP) in homage to the Panthers’ mascot, Sir Purr. “I always wanted a shop dog or grounds crew dog,” said Losito. “A couple months ago, she was hiding under a mower at the practice fields. She popped into our lives, and now she hangs out in the office with me during the day and comes home at night.”
LP serves as “therapy cat” for those who visit Losito’s office. And, according to Losito, workplace culture is a priority. He hires predominantly based on character and fit with the team culture, with the intent of teaching his staff any needed skills.
“We work a lot of long hours, and call a lot of audibles throughout the schedule and throughout the week,” he said. “We serve two teams and event loads here, so a lot of things change on the fly. We get a lot of weather interruptions, so everyone has to be willing to work in adverse conditions and on short notice. But they are good people – honest, hardworking, dedicated and driven.”
When all is said and done, the fields are painted and the hard work comes to life, Losito encourages his team to look at the fruits of their labor and take pride in what they do.
“It’s hot out, you’re working long days and maybe it takes a few days to get everything painted and set up,” he said. “But then you take a step back and get to see it – that’s the most rewarding. Getting to see the crew have that same pride is probably the most fulfilling moment.”
What their nominator had to say:
“Danny leads as a teacher, and wants everyone around him to be better and grow alongside him. He possesses qualities that allow not only the younger generation to look up to him, but the older generation to take notice and advice from him as well. Danny is a Rising Star because of his impact on not only his organization, but the turf industry as well.”
Editor’s Note: SportsFieldManagementOnline.com will share the individual profiles of this year’s Rising Star Award winners during the coming weeks so that each winner is highlighted in our featured spot on the site. But you can also read about all of this year’s winners in the October issue of SportsField Management, and you can listen to interviews with the winners on the SportsField Management Podcast.
To nominate an industry professional for next year’s Rising Star Awards, please visit the Rising Star main page.
Special thanks to STEC Equipment for sponsoring the Rising Star Awards.
