Is it a beach or a football field?

In terms of football over the past few years, the program at SU has exceeded expectations. We don’t have the best athletes, but we have athletes that know how to win. We don’t have big name coaches, but we have coaches that know how to win. Over the past two years, SU football has reached its pinnacle; back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division champions, two conference title game appearances and captured one SWAC championship. One could say that the program is on the rise.
We are starting to recruit better players, and they’re signing scholarships to come and play. However, you would think with the recent success, revenue would be pouring in. That’s not the case. Progress is supposed to bring in money to upgrade athletic facilities; but we can’t even keep a decent football field. Not to mention a practice field.
The practice field is less than anything you can practice on. The playing surface is unleveled, putting players at risk of stepping in a hole and at best rolling their ankle. No water is supplied to keep the practice field moist and lush for activities. The area itself isn’t exactly the best location either. Any visiting team can come and watch practices and gain a possible advantage if rules weren’t the way they are.
Ask yourself, do we have a beach on campus? The football field is currently in a Spring Break like state; very beach-like. Covered in weeds, uncut grass, and sand, you’d think an up and coming program would keep what they have nice to lure some of the more talented players to their roster.
After speaking with Eli Guillory, former head of the grounds crew, who seemed disappointed in the current condition of the field, he commented saying,
“Man, it’s ridiculous. We have a one-man staff; one person is keeping all of the fields. One person is the grounds keeper for the football field, baseball field, and practice field. We need a staff for that,” said Guillory. I also spoke with Director of Athletic Facility Maintenance Lealon Castello, who left me with,
“I have no comment on it.”
The reason the field is in the condition it is today is neglect. The groundskeeper only cares for fields that in current use when the sport is in season. Is it because the university doesn’t have the funds to staff a grounds crew? This situation raises the question of what’s really important. We spend an estimated five to eight hundred dollars per event we hold on campus, like parties or pageants, but cannot keep up with the athletic field that brings donors and sponsorships.
We have events like parties and pageants nearly ever week, so how is it that, collectively, as a university, we cannot take care of our athletic facilities. For some students, athletics are the reason for their attendance. We host student athletes from as far south as Puerto Rico and as far north as Ontario, Canada. The goal of the university should be to make them feel comfortable, no matter how far away they are from home.
However, we can’t supply that level of comfort because money that should be used for better facilities and practice fields are diverted to social activities, which don’t generate any revenue for the school. In essence, we’d rather have a party than keep our fields in prime conditions for our athletes.