PROFILE

In this edition of the SportsField Management Interview , we meet John “ Trey ” Rogers III , Ph . D ., professor of Turfgrass Management in the Department of Plant , Soil , and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University ( MSU ). He has been a faculty member at MSU since 1988 . During that time , he has advised and graduated more than 1,100 students . His current turfgrass research interests at MSU include performance turf renovations , turfgrass establishment and soil modification . He served as the lead scientist for the indoor turf project at the Pontiac Silverdome for the 1994 World Cup Soccer matches , and as the project leader of the Spartan Stadium turfgrass conversion in 2001- 02 . He was a turf consultant and project leader for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games and the 2008 UEFA Cup . His consultations on golf course , athletic field , and turfgrass matters are extensive throughout United States and internationally . His national and international lectures and presentations total more than 270 , with more than 230 publications and one book . He is the senior author of two U . S . patents .

SportsField Management ( SFM ): Please tell us about your background and your career path . What attracted you not only to the turfgrass industry , but also to your role as an educator ?

Rogers : I ’ m a native of Fort Smith , Arkansas . What got me involved in this was golf . I began to enjoy golf as a teenager , and I started off working on a driving range . I was eventually asked to work on the course , and I really enjoyed it . I initially went to college to be an engineer , and kept working on the golf course in the summer . I eventually changed my major [ to Agronomy ]. I graduated and became an assistant superintendent . There was a professor , now retired , from the University of Arkansas , named

John King . Dr . King was instrumental in convincing me to come back to graduate school . He tells the story that , in his class , he would ask the question , “ Can you spot the error or the issue with this paper ?” He said nobody ever saw the error , but I saw it inside of 30 seconds . So he thought I might be the type of person who would enjoy the challenge of graduate school .

So I went back to the University of Arkansas , not knowing anything about graduate school . I had a great experience teaching a soils laboratory with Dr . Duane Wolf , and really dove into my projects with Dr . King . That really got me thinking that I would like academia . I like the autonomy . I like the challenge . After I graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1985 , I then went to Penn State , and that is where I got my Ph . D . I often tell people that I learned to do research ( the scientific method ) and to love teaching at the University of Arkansas ; I learned turfgrass at Penn State . Both of those things prepared me to take a position that I had no idea that I was going to take – and that was to run the two-year turfgrass program and do research at Michigan State . I started here in 1988 . I remember telling my father that I would be at Michigan State for one or two years . I just finished year number 33 .

SFM : Please tell us about your typical day or typical year – both the courses you teach and the research with which you are involved – and what your overall role entails .

Rogers : I have what is called a research teaching appointment . So a big part of my role is teaching and advising students – both in the two-year and four-year programs . At Michigan State we have an undergraduate program , we have a two-year golf program , and we have a two-year sports turf program . I don ’ t know a lot of universities that

12 SportsField Management | June 2021 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com