Knightly News

Imagine the Knights’ home field spotlighted by the stadium lights. Each blade of grass is just the right height. The down markers are straight and accurate, and that Knights’ helmet in the center was applied by hand. That’s right - no stencils, no templates, freehand.

For a dozen years now, Director of Grounds Brett Bailey has hand-painted that symbol of pride at the center of the field of grass that he and his team nurture and maintain as well as any college or pro ground crew. What fans see on a Friday night doesn’t come close to telling the full story of the time, attention and effort that goes into making Memorial Field a place befitting the Knights.

“It’s 2 ½ days of prep for 2 ½ hours tops.”

Game day field prep is a massive undertaking, especially on weeks with multiple events. When the Knights are away maintenance continues, and things get even more intense when the teams host an opponent. Bailey and his team of groundskeepers, Shane Moncrief and Jonathan Ihaza, begin game day prep early Wednesday morning. Once the dew evaporates, the team starts mowing. Between Wednesday and Friday, the field will be cut once a day and twice on Friday. Such frequent clipping is needed because the team regularly applies a fertilizer high in nitrogen, which they refer to as “nuking” the grass. That nuking means the grass grows - fast. In the midst of cutting, trimming and nuking, there is also painting to do. Bailey starts that process using a computer to grid out the center-field logo. The rest is landscaping art.

Using a gas-powered painting machine with a handheld wand, Bailey applies liquid paint to a section of 30 X 30-foot turf. For the Homecoming contest, he’s challenged himself to recreate the head of the two-story Knight on display in the Field House weight room. It’s Homecoming, and the field will be aglow with updated lighting, so the more detailed Knight seems like a perfect way to mark the occasion. That detail will require Bailey to mix paints to get the different shades of blue just right. Before the field is complete, the crew will use 25 gallons of paint with roughly 15 gallons used on the logo patch.

Bailey’s artistic abilities are not confined to 100 yards of turf. He also enjoys painting abstract art and can often be found at home with a paintbrush in hand. When he’s not painting or growing, Bailey is likely fishing, hunting and spending time with his wife, Jessica and their children, Brody and Mia Belle. His passion for the outdoors is part of what led him to his current career. “I always had a love for horticulture,” he says. He also always loved baseball. His dad coached at LSU, and Bailey grew up on the field. He played for Mississippi Delta Community College and Panola College in Carthage, Texas. However, after suffering an injury and undergoing surgery, Bailey had to find a new focus. He looked for a way to stay close to the game even if he couldn’t compete. As an agronomy major and under the mentorship of Dale Sisemore, he began learning about athletic field management.

“Growing grass has taken me places, and I’ve met people I never would have imagined,” Bailey says from the Episcopal Field House overlooking the home field. Bailey’s ground crew adventures have certainly kept him close to the action. For six years he worked at LSU, helping recover the field after Saturday contests. He worked SEC baseball tournaments. He was even on hand for the first pitch the opening year of the former Enron Stadium as a member of the Astros ground crew.

“It’s a passion and a hobby,” says Bailey. As Ground Crew Director, he is part artist, part horticulturist, part chemist and part weatherman. “People don’t realize how much faith we put into weather forecasts,” he says. “It’s all about timing, and it gets dicey when weather comes in.” Weather can mean the difference between a kickoff with ample time to spare and the ground crew finishing the little details just before the whistle blows. In addition to the grass, the crew also takes care of the pylons, drains and tarps, and everything needs to be just right.

“It’s your first impression,” Bailey says of why the work he and his team do is so important. He often hears from visiting teams and officials that they haven’t seen a field like Memorial Field anywhere in the state. That difference is because of the work poured into each detail. “It’s intricate,” Bailey says. “A lot of thought goes into it.” While many may not realize it, the ground crew has a tremendous impact on athletics, and that’s something they take seriously. “They don’t just cut grass,” says Bailey of his team. The crew’s work also impacts athlete safety. “It’s up to us for it to be safe,” he says.

In addition to maintaining Memorial Field, Bailey and his team maintain the baseball, softball and practice fields, as well as the other 44 acres of campus. Bailey is appreciative of the support he receives from the Episcopal coaches to make that happen.

The annual Homecoming game is a special occasion for many on campus, including the ground crew. Their work will be on full display for a crowd that includes graduates who haven’t been on campus in decades. Bailey hopes returning alumni take a moment to appreciate the field, and he wants that first impression to inspire reflection. “Is it better now than it was when they were here?” he hopes they think. As far as the student competitors, he hopes the Knights remember one thing about the field - “We played on the best field around.”

The Episcopal Ground Crew: Jonathan Ihaza, Brett Bailey and Shane Moncrief.

We know you love the Episcopal home field. Give a shout-out to the team that ensures the Knights have that home field advantage. Share a message in the comments section.

Ground crew fast facts:

• The Knights’ home field grass has something in common with Tiger Stadium. They are both a hybrid Bermuda called Celebration Bermuda.
• The blades are kept to roughly 9/16 of an inch, and the turf is very dense.
• Baseball is the toughest field to manage because there are dirt areas to consider, and there is no practice field. Bailey says the crew does a lot of edging to keep the baselines tight and clean.
• When the Bermuda goes dormant in the winter, the crew overseeds a ryegrass that works well for soccer contests.

No spotlight on the Grounds Crew Director would be complete without photos of his home turf.

As you would expect, Bailey's home turf is in great shape!

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.