Meet the graduate student who oversees Northern's new $6.3M athletic fields

Northern State University is a place where the same person who puts garbage bags in trash cans can also attend meetings with architects.

Especially if that person is Josh Kunzmann, the graduate student serving as the facility operations assistant in charge of the new athletic and recreation fields on campus.

“I actually came here in the summer. I got to see — it was basically ground zero because this was all just a dirt pile out here,” Kunzmann said, sitting in the bleachers of the pavilion overlooking the soccer field. “Getting to see what the final product is, it’s a pretty cool thing.”

The pavilion is the building between the football practice and soccer fields. It has locker rooms for soccer, seating and restrooms for the public, a concessions stand and a room that can be rented like a luxury box to watch soccer games or football practice.

Kunzmann’s position is one of three new positions in the Northern athletics administrative offices this year, said Zach Flakus, assistant athletic director. Previously, there was one grad assistant working with administration.

Two have in-office administrative duties — Nick Heitkamp, athletic operations grad assistant, and Mikayla Nassy-Wong, compliance graduate assistant — Flakus said.

The athletics department took over intramural sports this year, which is what Jordan Mehl is in charge of.

“Athletics has all this athletic equipment and facilities and knowledge and know-how on running athletic events, and it kind of translated very well over to intramurals,” Flakus said. “Plus, we have the new athletic and rec fields ... so that opens up a new opportunity for intramurals, because for years we weren’t able to do intramural football on campus, we weren’t able to do ultimate frisbee. There’s just a lot more opportunities and things they can do on turf.”

To go from being a college student to being a key part of a team in charge of a multi-million dollar facility is a pretty big change, but it’s something Kunzmann said he is excited about.

“We really get to be hands-on in a lot of different departments that you go to a bigger Division I university and you’re not going to get all that experience that you would here,” he said. “Especially with (Athletic Director) Josh (Moon) and Zack (Flakus) always willing to let you sit in on meetings.”

Kunzmann, 24, graduated from South Dakota State University in Brookings during summer, he said. He played baseball for the Jackrabbits.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management and is working on a master’s in sports performance and leadership.

He grew up in Sioux Falls, graduating from Lincoln High School in 2012. Northern wasn’t on his radar until he had an internship in spring with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and the Wolves men’s basketball team kept winning tournament games, getting to the NCAA Division II championship game in March.

“Seeing them make that next step to the national level, and then getting to sit down and talk to Josh Moon and just seeing what Northern was producing here really just kinda opened my eyes to what they had going on here,” Kunzmann said.

When it came to grad school, he said he didn’t apply anywhere else.

“With all the construction and things that they have going on, it seems like the place to be, especially if you’re working in facilities,” Kunzmann said.

He said he does anything from taking out garbage to scheduling the fields to attending meetings with the architects.

It’s an experience unique to this place and time.

At a school Northern’s size, grad assistants are key to the success of the athletic program, Flakus said. Many programs don’t have an assistant coach outside of the grad assistant.

Graduate assistants in athletics at Northern work up to 20 hours each week, performing key duties, like coaching and recruiting, Flakus said. They’re paid with tuition reduced by two-thirds and a semesterly stipend of $3,758. They generally last two years.

Graduate assistantships are available outside of athletics; students must first be admitted into a graduate program before applying to be a graduate assistant, according to information from Northern.

Once he graduates, Kunzmann said he’d like to find a job in the NCAA. He’ll have the management of a $6.3 million facility for soccer and football under his belt when applying.

“After this, you have the potential to go wherever you want to go with few limitations,” he said. “Especially with the connections that the staff has here.”

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