Sports Turf Management

Associate Degree Program

Sports Turf Management blends plant science, precision maintenance and facility operations to keep athletic fields safe, attractive and competition-ready. If you enjoy working outdoors and take pride in high-performance spaces, this program prepares you to work behind the scenes at sporting facilities across Sioux Falls, South Dakota and nationwide.

As a Sports Turf Management technician, you become part of the team that maintains fields athletes trust and fans admire.

Learn to Maintain Natural and Artificial Athletic Fields

In the Sports Turf Management program, you gain hands-on experience caring for both natural and artificial turf systems. You will learn how to mark field boundaries, paint turf lines and maintain consistent playing surfaces that meet safety and performance standards.

Your training includes mowing, watering, aerating and fertilizing turf, along with managing proper field drainage. For artificial turf, you will learn to vacuum and disinfect surfaces and complete routine repairs to extend field life and usability.

Build Career-Ready Skills in Just Two Years

In as little as two years, Southeast Tech can prepare you to begin a career in groundskeeping and sports turf maintenance. The program emphasizes real world application so you graduate with job-ready experience.

As a professional Sports Turf Manager, your responsibilities may include:

• Trimming hedges and trees
• Planting new foliage and seasonal plantings
• Scheduling irrigation and water management
• Applying mulch and maintaining weed-free plant beds
• Mowing, edging and fertilizing turf
• Monitoring plant and turf health

• Removing debris and maintaining clean facilities

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Compare Career Paths: Sports Turf Management vs. Landscape Worker

As a Sports Turf Management Technician, you combine your passion for the outdoors with maintaining large-scale sports and recreational facilities. Your work may extend beyond athletic fields to include parking lots, picnic areas, swimming pools and facility equipment at stadiums and sports complexes.

A landscape worker typically focuses on planting, mowing and pruning in smaller residential and commercial settings such as office buildings, private homes, apartment complexes and hotels. Sports Turf Management offers a broader scope, higher technical demands and opportunities to work in high-profile athletic environments.

Choose Southeast Tech for Industry-Focused Sports Turf Training

Studying Sports Turf Management at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota gives you access to hands-on training in the Ed Wood Trade and Industry Center. You will work with specialized grounds maintenance equipment while building a strong foundation in:

• Soils and soil management
• Irrigation systems
• Foremanship and leadership
• Fertilizers and nutrient management
• Landscape construction
• Plant identification
• Pest management
• Arboriculture

This comprehensive approach ensures you understand both the science and the operational side of sports turf management.

Specialize Your Career with Real World Opportunities

Your coursework helps you explore a variety of professional pathways within the sports turf industry. Graduates are prepared to maintain golf courses, work on semi-professional and professional baseball fields, care for memorial gardens and oversee green spaces owned by local governments.

Access Strong Job Placement and Industry Connections

Southeast Tech Sports Turf Management graduates benefit from strong job outlook pathways and industry connections. Alumni have secured internships and full-time positions with organizations in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, local and out-of-state golf courses, schools and commercial landscape companies.

These partnerships reinforce Southeast Tech’s commitment to industry-relevant education and successful career outcomes.

View Sports Turf Student Success Stories