GIFT OF CRUMB RUBBER HELPS KEEP VIKINGS HEALTHY

Head Football Coach Bill Danenhauer calls a recent gift to Dana as “one of the best things we have done for our fields since I’ve been here.” Injuries on the team are down and Viking Field has the thickest and greenest covering of grass it’s had in a decade, drought or no.

And it’s all thanks to Nebraskans’ old tires and a gift from Bill Sapp, CEO of Sapp Brothers Petroleum and a member of the Dana College Board of Regents.

In early summer, a covering of crumb rubber was applied to both Viking Field and the college’s practice field. These fine particles of rubber are produced by freezing old tires and then smashing them with a hammer mill. It’s a process pioneered in Nebraska by EnTire Recycling Inc. of Nebraska City, the company that sold the additive to Dana. Half of the project was paid for by Sapp (with a portion from his brother, Lee Sapp of Lee Sapp Leasing), and Dana hopes to recoup the rest of the cost through Nebraska grants that support these types of recycling projects. The material was also used on Dana’s other practice and play fields.

“I’m really happy with it,” Danenhauer said. In his two years at Dana, the field was as hard as a rock, causing injuries to players tackled on it. Now the field has more durability and more “spring,” helping to cushion players as they fall. The field is also able to hold onto more water, further softening the field and giving the grass a better growing environment.

“It is sincerely a win-win situation,” Sapp said. “Nebraska gets to get rid of its old tires and Dana gets a safer field for its players. If it saves one young man from hurting his knee — an injury that can last the rest of his life — then it’s worth it.”

The crumb rubber will remain effective for 5-10 years, depending on weather and field conditions. Then it will become a part of the soil under the field. The additive is used on the University of Nebraska fields, as well as several high schools in the state.