Pat Berger - Athletics - Arkansas Razorbacks

Pat Berger

Pat Berger is in his ninth full year on the staff after being named sports turf manager on March 12, 2001. Berger, who has been in the turf business since 1974, is responsible for the maintenance of fields, lawns, landscaping, trees, flowers and shrubs associated with Arkansas’ athletic facilities.
The Sioux City, Iowa, native is also responsible for designing and maintaining new beds and the future development of any turf fields.
His supervisory and management skills were utilized during the conversion of Baum Stadium from Astro-Turf to natural grass, assisting with the installation of the synthetic field at the football practice facility, the landscaping at the south entrance of Walker Pavilion and the weight room, the green space area along Razorback Road and the resurfacing of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Berger, who has a certificate in turf management and attended Michigan State, joined the staff after working at Four Hills Country Club in Albuquerque, N.M. He was an assistant at Oak Hill CC in Rochester, N.Y., when the course played host to the 1980 PGA Championship. His first superintendent job was at El Paso CC where he managed a $1.6 million renovation and hosted the Sun Bowl All-American College Classic six times. His longest stint was 12 years at Texarkana CC, which was one of the original hosts of a Ben Hogan Tour event, now the Nationwide Tour. He has supervised new golf course construction, renovations and installation of irrigation systems.
Berger, who has worked in three of the nation’s five distinct growing zones, is a certified golf course superintendent, a master certified professional turfgrass manager in Texas and was named the outstanding student in his class at MSU. He also served on the Grounds Maintenance magazine Editorial Quality Review Board and is working on his degree in turf management at Arkansas.
He is married to Beverly, a Fort Smith native, and they have five children, Brent, Emily, Erica, Erin, and Elizabeth.