No Sweat
Support system keeps football game in action
KEEPING THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS football program functioning requires more than just the players.
A support system of equipment managers and groundskeepers, though rarely recognized, provides the foundation of a football team—a well-groomed field, working equipment and almost everything else necessary to play football.
Without the workers' effort, the football team could not be so successful, said Jim Porter, Memorial Stadium's custodial supervisor.
"If we didn't do what we were supposed to, they wouldn't be playing football out there," Porter said.
Custodial workers like Porter are necessary to perform the essential, albeit invisible, tasks to get a football program off the ground.
"The work actually starts about a week before (a home game)," Porter said. "It's a real relief on game day when nobody yells because something isn't done right."
Porter has been with the custodial staff at KU for nine years.
The job of the custodial staff is to keep the stadium in immaculate condition for the players, fans and coaches. This work includes cleaning not only the football field but also the press box, locker rooms and trash facilities.
Chambers, Kansas City, Mo., senior and equipment manager for the Jayhawk football squad.
"I played ball in high school," Chambers said. "When one of the guys on my floor mentioned it, I called the coach and he said, 'Come on down.'"
The KU football program's success also rests on the shoulders of people like Dave
Chambers is in his third season as equipment manager. He said that although the job was rewarding, it also was tough at times.
Other important elements in the custodial workforce are utility workers like Laura Sellers, a seven-year veteran whose duties include setting up film gear, sidelines, benches, and tables on the field. Sellers and Porter both said that they watched occasional bits and pieces of the football games but that their work prevented them from actually sitting down and taking in an entire contest.
"It's a big time commitment," Chambers said. "It's a few hours out of every day, and at the games, we're there all day. I follow the coach around and just hold cords, clipboards, whatever needs to be done."
The new college football experience is drastically different from Chambers' high school experience.
"We had one manager who didn't do much of anything," Chambers said. "We
If we didn't do what we were supposed to, they wouldn't be playing football out there.
JIM PORTER custodial supervisor
get all their pads ready and tape their jerseys to their shoulder pads, and all kinds of stuff."
Of course, all managers are required to attend every game, home and away, and every practice. Because the team practices Monday through Thursday, Chambers does get some time off,
but he said that the position took its toll on his studies.
"I study when I can at night," Chambers said. "I don't know how I do it. A lot of people ask me that."
It also means missing class occasionally, Chambers said. "I don't like to miss class," he said. "I rarely do. I might have to miss half of one, or one on Fridays. It's tough."
—BY ANDY ROHRBACK
725 Massachusetts 842-4544
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Hill • October 11, 1995
Homecoming 11