Man on large riding lawnmower, trimming grass on a golf course.

Sports Turf Management

Associate Degree Program - 66 Credits

Sports Turf Management requires an eye for aesthetics and plant health. Join the team that keeps sporting facilities attractive, orderly and healthy! As a Sports Turf Management technician, you could care for natural or artificial turf, mark boundaries and paint turf.

You will be required to mow, water, aerate and fertilize turf, as well as ensure proper field drainage. For artificial turf maintenance, fields must be vacuumed and disinfected, as well as periodically repaired. In just two years, you could be starting your career in grounds keeping! Other duties for you as a professional Sports Turf Manager might include: 

  • Trimming hedges and trees 
  • Planting new foliage 
  • Scheduling waterings 
  • Applying mulch and weed plant beds 
  • Mowing, edging and fertilizing 
  • Observing plant health 
  • Removing detritus

The career outlook in your field is strong. Employment of turf managers is expected to grow 9% through 2028, which is faster than expected for all occupations. Demand from large institutions is expected to boost prospects. 

Job Placement Rate

100%

Southeast Tech's Sports Turf Management program boasts a 100% job placement rate among its 2021 graduates.

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Earn a full-ride scholarship to Southeast Tech's Sports Turf Management program through Build Dakota!

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Compare: Sports Turf Management vs. Landscape Worker

As a Sports Turf Management Technician, you get to combine your love for the outdoors with maintaining sports facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and across the nation. Your work for these large facilities could include upkeep of parking lots, picnic areas, swimming pools and other equipment. A Landscape Worker performs planting, mowing, and pruning in smaller residential and commercial settings, such as office buildings, private homes, apartment buildings and hotels. 

Why Study Sports Turf Management at Southeast Tech?

At STC in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this program teaches you how to work with specialized grounds maintenance equipment, as well as gives you background in: 

  • Soils 
  • Irrigation 
  • Foremanship 
  • Fertilizers 
  • Landscape construction 
  • Plant identification 
  • Pest management 
  • Arboriculture 

Your coursework also helps you:

Specialize Your Career: You will learn about a variety of professional opportunities available in your field, including maintaining golf courses, working at semi-professional and professional baseball diamonds, caring for memorial gardens, and overseeing “green” spaces owned by local governments.

 Where Will You Work as a Sports Turf Manager? 

Our graduates have landed internships and full-time jobs with organizations in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, local and out-of-state golf courses, schools and commercial landscape companies.
 
Read more about career possibilities for Sports Turf Management graduates at Southeast Tech.
 

Sports Turf Career Success

Explore Classes   

Southeast Tech’s curriculum for bookkeeping includes classes in Herbaceous Landscape Plants, Turf Grass Chemicals, Soil and Nutrition, Woody Plants, Pest Management, and Irrigation Principles and Practices. 

View Curriculum   ADMISSION CRITERIA  

Cost  

Costs are calculated based on a charge of $255 per credit hour, plus applicable fees.

Total Costs

See Cost & Fee Breakdown

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Faculty

Benjamin Ringling

Instructor
Horticulture
Wood Center 253

Cory Borgen

Instructor
Sports Turf Management
Wood Center 253

All Horticulture Technology Programs

Other Programs Related to Sports Turf Management  

If you’re interested in a Sports Turf Management career, you might also be interested in these other programs at Southeast Tech:

Horticulture Technology

Jesse Tschetter headshot

"Southeast Tech and my instructors in the Sports Turf Management program provided me with the knowledge to help maintain football fields at a professional level. I learned a lot last year, from hands-on experience with different equipment, to learning about different grasses and pests. Southeast Tech does an excellent job preparing you for after-college work. I recommend Southeast Technical College and the Sports Turf Management program to anyone looking for excellent and affordable schooling."

– Jesse Tschetter, Sports Turf Management Student