After the Final Whistle: Ole Miss Landscapers Cope With Gameday Crowds

Thousands of fans fill the Grove for Ole Miss football Saturday, but before that the university’s landscape crews have already spent days preparing the campus for one of its busiest days of the year.

The freshly maintained grass, clean walkways, strategically placed trash cans and carefully maintained trees can make the work appear effortless. Behind that appearance, however, is a large operation that begins before fans arrive and continues well after the final whistle.

Ole Miss Landscape Services maintains more than 1,000 acres of central campus. During football weekends, that responsibility becomes even more demanding as thousands of students, alumni and visitors gather throughout the Grove and the rest of campus.

On Friday, according to the university, Landscape Services places 2,500 35-gallon plastic waste cans throughout the Grove, the Circle, and the campus. The department also places more than 150 additional 55-gallon barrels around campus and brings in between 17 and 30 large dumpsters to handle game-day waste.

Nathan Lazinsky, director of Landscape Services, said the department’s workload does not disappear simply because fewer people are on campus as the Rebels play the Charlotte, 49ers . 

“With over a thousand acres of campus to work on, there is always work to do even with less people on campus,” Lazinsky said. “We still have to maintain the grounds, have to keep things clean, have to make sure the campus is ready for the students and visitors who are coming here.”

That preparation becomes particularly important on football weekends because the Grove is more than just a green space as it is the center of Ole Miss tradition.

Matt Foley, previously a landscape supervisor at Ole Miss, helped nominate the university’s Landscape Services department for a 2024 Professional Grounds Management Society Honor Award. The recognition highlighted the department’s work maintaining the university’s grounds and creating an attractive environment for students and visitors.

“Our goal is to make sure the campus is ready for everyone who comes here,” Foley said. “There are a lot of people who may only see the finished product, but there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into getting the grounds ready.”

Foley’s perspective highlights why the landscaping operation is about more than simply cutting grass or picking up trash. The crew’s work helps create the setting that students, fans and visitors associate with an Ole Miss game day.

That work becomes especially important when the campus is filled with thousands of people. A clean and well-maintained Grove can make the difference between a space that feels prepared for a major event and one that feels overwhelmed by the crowd.

Foley explained that what they did was crucial saying, “From the mowing and trimming to the flowers, trees, trash and cleanup, every single part of the job matters because people will notice when something is not taken care of.”

Once the fans arrive, the work changes from preparation to maintenance. Crews monitor waste containers, collect trash and recycling and work to keep the grounds in usable condition throughout the day.

Weather can make that job more difficult.

Lazinsky previously described the challenges crews face when bad weather hits during cleanup.

“We’ve done it in thunder and lightning before,” Lazinsky said. “It always rains during one game per season, and it’s just miserable. The volunteers can get a little frustrated and leave a little early, and that just makes things harder to pick up.”

The amount of cleanup can also depend on how fans respond after the game. Crews must collect discarded food containers, bottles and other materials while also preparing the campus for normal university operations the following week.

The landscaping operation extends far beyond football.

Landscape Services is responsible for the trees, flower beds, irrigation and other outdoor areas that make up the university’s campus. The department cares for thousands of trees and plants thousands of seasonal flowers and bulbs each year.

That work became especially important following the January 2026 ice storm, which damaged trees across campus. Landscape Services helped remove storm debris and began restoring affected areas, including portions of the Grove and Circle.

The department’s philosophy is centered on maintaining campus for both current and future students.

“I always tell our staff, ‘You’re putting your signature on everything you do out here,’” Lazinsky said. “‘That’s your legacy.’”

That idea is especially visible on football weekends. Fans may notice the Grove’s appearance, but they may not realize how much work goes into creating it.

Former landscape director Jeff McManus said that appearance has a larger purpose.

“At Ole Miss, we believe that a well-kept campus does more than just look good, it can make a sense of community and pride for the people that go here,” McManus said.

For fans, game day begins when they arrive on campus and find their spot in the Grove. For Landscape Services, the process starts as early as 3 am.

By the time the first tailgate begins, the grass has been prepared, trash cans have been positioned and the grounds are ready for thousands of visitors.

And when the crowd finally leaves, the landscape crews are still working.