Hawks Field at Haymarket Park Chosen as Field of the Year

Lincoln ? Hawks Field at Haymarket Park earned a national honor on Friday, as the field was selected as the 2007 Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) Baseball Field of the Year Award in the College/University division.

It marks the second time in the last four seasons that Hawks Field has received this honor, marking the first time has college field has earned the honor twice since the award was created in 1992. The field also received the honor in 2004.

The commitment to excellence in overall field quality, safety, playability and appearance earned Hawks Field at Haymarket Park Field of the Year honors in voting by a panel of national judges.

In 2007, over 250 events took place at the facility, which the University of Nebraska shares with the American Association’s Lincoln Saltdogs and the city of Lincoln, including a full season of Husker and Saltdogs baseball games and the Nebraska baseball state tournament.

Winning awards for the quality of the field is nothing new for Head Groundskeeper Josh Klute and assistants Jared Hertzel and Jen Roeber. The field has been selected as the top field in both the Northern League and American Association every year since Haymarket Park opened in 2001. Klute will receive the honor on Jan. 18, in Phoenix, Ariz., as part the annual STMA Conference.

"This award means a lot to us because of the all the hard work that our staff puts in throughout the year," Klute said. "With all of the events we host, it takes a great staff to keep the field in great shape, and a lot of the credit goes to Jared and Jen, as well as our interns (Andy Lomax, Jeff Thoman and Jesse Grimm)."

Nebraska Head Baseball Coach Mike Anderson appreciates the efforts that Klute and his staff go to in giving both the Huskers and Saltdogs the best playing conditions possible.

"Josh and his staff are most deserving of this honor considering their work habits, time crunches and passion for Hawks Field," Anderson said. "We’re excited to be playing in a park which is the best field in college baseball. Our program has an opportunity to play on fields across the country, and there is no place like Nebraska and it proves out with this award."

The Field of the Year Awards are presented for top maintenance of natural playing surfaces and support facilities in four major sports areas: baseball, softball, football and soccer. The Field of the Year and Sports Field Complex of the Year Awards are the highest honor STMA bestows upon a facility. Entrants must supply information on the design of the facility, the uses of the facility that impact the playing surface, the organization of the maintenance program and innovative solutions used to overcome playing surface problems.

Each of the five judges on the Awards Committee reviews the entrants independently, grading them on each aspect of the criteria. The results of the independent input of the five judges determine the winning field.

-- Huskers --