Why Is Campus So Pretty?

Today we are going to highlight someone that has been a great influence on training camp and a great influence here at Minnesota State; Bruce Leivermann.

Bruce Leivermann

Bruce is head of the grounds crew, and him and his team are the reason that Minnesota State University has the stunning and beautiful campus that it does.  They are the reason for the crafted landscapes that are scattered all over campus, that includes the trees, gardens, and perfectly clean cut grasses. They are the reason the sport fields on campus are so beautifully kept and mowed, with straight lines and fresh bright paint. They are the reason that the Minnesota Vikings can come to MSU every summer and expect a nice location to host their pre-season training camp. Him and his crew do a lot for our university and the reason it looks so good, which is why we wanted to put him in the spotlight.

 I had heard from a fellow intern that Bruce was a funny guy and today I got the chance to meet him. He picked me up at the media entrance and gave me a ride on his golf cart over to the crew. I got to take a picture of the crew and then sat down to interview Bruce. (In the golf cart. I felt pretty lucky)

My first question to Bruce was what he has to do to prepare for training camp, and if it’s different than how he does things during the year.

He responded, “Training camp consists of more preparation in regarding to more painting, more field preparation, such as; we do divots, more cutting, more fertilizing. Stuff like that.”

I then asked what kind of interactions he has with the Vikings when preparing for camp. He said, “ I meet with their field guy, basically once a week prior to camp. Then once camps going, we talk everyday.” Following up on that I asked if he ever gets any special requests.  He said, “The latest one this year was, we actually painted the fields, and then were told they weren’t bright enough. So, we repainted them the same day. They looked very nice.”

Relative to the amount of time of preparation it takes to get the field ready for the three weeks the Vikings are in town, Leivermann said that things get rolling in the spring,

“The field work starts in May, preparation for camp ramps up roughly around the end of June," he said.  "Then really starts intensively once camp's involved."

A typical day for Leivermann and his crew during camp starts with field maintenance.  “First thing every morning we go out and fill divots that the players make that mess the fields up. We do divots first, then we move, clean up any debris, then depending upon the paint, we have to paint and that’s it.

For those not in the trenches, it would seem that hosting and being responsible for the practice fields for a National Football League franchise would be stressful and daunting.  Not so much, says Leivermann. “We look forward to its. It’s fine.”

Leivermann, who is in his fourth year at MSU and is responsible for the look of the entire campus, credits his background in working in the golf course industry as one of the reasons he was ready for the challenge he faced in coming to oversee things at the University.  “I’ve been here for four years and I started in the golf industry and I just got the niche for it. I like playing golf and I like the outdoors. But I'm fortunate with the crew we have here that consists of fourteen people. We all share the responsibilities on campus. Everything is pretty equal as far as time on different areas. 

But, as Leivermann notes, it's all in the approach. “We are happy when the Vikings are happy or MSU is happy. If we can please both athletics departments, we’re happy.” 

Leivermann And The Crew