COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Photos courtesy of Chaz Perea, Ph. D., Mt. San Antonio College

MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE( Mt. SAC) is one of the largest community colleges in California. The campus sits on 420 rolling acres in Walnut, California, located on the eastern edge of the greater Los Angeles area. Mt. SAC offers both an associate degree in Park and Sports Turf Management, as well as a Sports Turf Management certificate option

The Park and Sports Turf Management degree is part of Mt. SAC’ s comprehensive Agricultural Sciences Program. Students learn how to design, install and manage irrigation systems; set up and implement fertilizer and pest management programs; design and properly install a complete landscape; and properly identify and maintain trees, shrubs and turfgrasses. In addition, students learn about personnel management, budgeting and other management topics.

This Sports Turf Management certificate program is designed to provide skills required for students interested in employment at golf courses, racetracks, athletic fields and stadiums, and other high-use turf areas. All courses are applicable for degree requirements in Ornamental Horticulture, Park and Sports Turf Management, Equipment Technology, and Integrated Pest Management.

“ What’ s unique to our community college is that we have a real ag department. We have a nursery that’ s for production, wholesale, commercial with students and a couple full-time staff,” said Chaz Perea, Ph. D., professor of Horticultural Science, and co-chair of Agriculture Science.“ That acts as the living laboratory for our horticulture program. We have a nursery, demonstration garden, equine, livestock, sheep, cattle.”

According to Perea, within the Ag Science department, Mt. SAC has registered vet technology, animal science and horticulture— all of which are career technical education( CTE) programs focused on job skills, industry connections, and building community.

“ People assume we have a large turf program within our within our horticulture department, but we don’ t,” said Perea.“ Brian [ Scott ] teaches AGOR 39 Turfgrass Production and Management, and I teach AGOR 40 Sports Turf Management. That’ s it. We have eight or nine turf plots and we have a small Wiffle ball field that we use as our lab space. Then we go out onto campus to get our hands on with the grounds crew at Mount SAC.”

Dr. Kent W. Kurtz Memorial Stadium is the Wiffle ball field and living laboratory at Mt. SAC. The field’ s namesake was an industry pioneer, professor at Cal Poly Pomona, and mentor to Mt. SAC’ s Brian Scott.

“ It’ s very small field, but we use the heck out of it,” said Perea.

8 SportsField Management | April 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com