2025 RISING STAR AWARDS JUSTIN DANELUTT
Justin Danelutt
DIRECTOR OF GROUNDS AND ATHLETIC FIELDS, CITY OF OXFORD, ALABAMA
They also spray and fertilize grounds around the city, such as City Hall; perform landscape renovations in the downtown area; and help out with their sister facility, Oxford Lake.
The crew includes Danelutt, two assistants, a full-time mechanic and mechanic’ s assistant, a housekeeping coordinator and housekeeper, 10 groundskeepers, and six to seven part-time workers during the summer months.
The fields at Choccolocco Park receive a heavy event load, starting in February with Oxford High School sports, including baseball, softball, and track and field.
“ We host a spring break tournament that sees approximately 60 teams come in and out over three weeks in March,” said Danelutt.“ We host several collegiate championships. We have hosted the Ohio Valley Conference, Gulf South Conference softball and baseball, Atlantic Sun softball, the Junior College Softball World Series, and state championships in softball and baseball.
Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Rising Star Award Winner Justin Danelutt studied Criminal Justice at Jacksonville State University; but a job at Cider Ridge Golf Club in Oxford, Alabama led him to an unexpected career in the green industry.
Later, when Choccolocco Park, a 360-acre multi-use facility, was being built in Oxford in 2015, Danelutt seized the opportunity to become assistant superintendent at the park, and has been there since.
Now, as director of grounds and athletic fields for the City of Oxford, Danelutt oversees Choccolocco Park, which includes a stadium baseball field, a stadium softball field, seven auxiliary softball fields, two auxiliary baseball fields, collegiate track and field, four soccer fields, a 40-acre multi-purpose cross country track, a 15-acre disc golf course, as well as approximately 40 acres of common areas that he and his crew maintain.
22 SportsField Management | October 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com