Gridiron greats have come and gone, week after week, season after season, pounding their paws on the hallowed ground every Evanston autumn. But even when the trees have shed their red and orange décor, the spirits of ‘Cats past grace Ryan Field, the collegiate cathedral.
On one of the last warm weekends of the year, foreman of the grounds Randy Stoneberg surveys the 6,400 square yards of grass stretching before him. Stoneberg, along with three full-time employees and a part-time field crew, is responsible for the height, color, absorbency and toughness of every last blade of grass.
“You’ve got to find a happy medium between dry and wet on game day,” Stoneberg says. “If it’s too wet, [the grass] will just rip right out, and if it’s too dry, sand just blows everywhere.”
Tending to the turf is a sacrament of the highest importance. Work begins in the summer, when the grounds crew starts cutting the grass three to four times a week. In later months, when the temperature dips below 50 degrees, Stoneberg’s crew places growth blankets on the field to keep the grass sprouting.
If the stadium is a cathedral, then the spray-painted logo and lettering are the stained glass windows. The grounds crew uses laser-cut custom stencils to paint everything prior to the season opener. After that, crew members freehand the markings at least two to three times before a game.
In his 25 years at Northwestern, Stoneberg has seen the Wildcats transform from perennial losers into bowl game regulars. Work for the crew begins on Monday and doesn’t ever really end, even though Ryan Field goes under the growth blankets at the end of the season.
“For years, my wife considered herself a football widow,” Stoneberg says.
The grounds crew also man-ages the other athletic venues on campus. That means memorizing the needs of surfaces and coaches. For example, men’s soccer coach Tim Lenahan likes the turf loose so that the ball rolls well. Women’s lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, on the other hand, prefers a firm surface to encourage speed.But Stoneberg isn’t shy about picking favorites.
“Ryan’s our number one concern,” he says.
The crew’s attention hasn’t gone unrewarded. In 2000, Ryan Field was named the Football Field of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association. Wildcats noticed, too.
“Coach Fitz said after the first game that as far as he’s concerned, we’ve got the number one field in the NCAA,” Stoneberg says.
Though the crew does get to enjoy games at Ryan Field, its responsibilities don’t end with the opening kickoff. They handle the extra point nets and ensure everything runs smoothly.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” says Stoneberg. “God forbid they’re out there and a divot rips up, and a player gets hurt.”
But Ryan Field isn’t just for the players or the coaches. It’s where some of the smartest students in the world come togehter to pray with one voice for men passing a ball on a patch of grass. At a school so often criticized for a lack of community, Ryan Field is a house of miracles.