by Sheila Rupp
Daily Lobo
Brent Neighbor spends so much time tending to UNM playing fields, he doesn't work much on his own yard.
"My lawn at home looks terrible," said Neighbor, UNM's athletics turf manager.
When the game starts, Neighbor is not in the stands. He is on the sidelines watching the field, not the game.
"I usually don't even know what's going on during the game," he said. "I constantly watch the field."
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Neighbor and his staff tend all playing and practice fields year round to make sure they are in optimum shape. This means maintaining the grounds, mowing the fields and repairing them for the next game. In the off-season they rehabilitate the fields.
Neighbor said he knows all about the importance of maintenance and upkeep. As a KC-10 mechanic in the Air Force, he said he learned responsibility - something that helps him with his career at UNM.
"I wasn't overwhelmed," he said. "You're dealing with life and death up there, and if you screw up on an airplane, nobody's coming back. But if you screw up on a field here, that can be life and death to an athlete. Blow a knee out - it ends a career. You're out of a job."
Last year before a softball game, vandals came onto the field and turned on a hose, flooding the field overnight. Neighbor and a co-worker came in a couple hours before the game to push the water from the field and dry it out as best as possible. Because of the flooding, the game didn't start until much later. The teams were only able to play a game and a half before darkness settled in, and the second game was called because there are no lights on the field, Neighbor said.
"We were pretty proud of ourselves just for doing that," he said.
Neighbor said he likes the long and irregular hours of his job. His job is not scheduled and it varies depending on game and practice times and the condition of the field. He usually starts work at 7 a.m. and leaves when the fields are in perfect condition.
"When you're here all by yourself at 11 o'clock at night, and everybody's gone, and the game is over, it's nice to look and see that the day went smooth," he said. "The field wasn't a factor in the game, so that's rewarding."
Neighbor said he likes to spend time looking out on the fields and getting on the mower. He said even though it might not look like it, his time on the mower is when he gets the most accomplished, because it gives him time to think, and he is not cooped up in his office.
Even though he spends most of his time on UNM fields, Neighbor said he is going to take the time to renovate his lawn this winter.
"We tore it all out, and I'm going to start from scratch," he said.
