Miami players, personnel endure long road trips

Hallberg has overseen four long trips to start the football season.

Robert Leifheit/Miami Redhawks scrimmage game Saturday, August 15th, 2009.

Special needs kids shine in Polar Bears basketball
2:04 p.m.
Darling, Raiders find scoring balance
2/12/12
WSU’s victory good for the sole
2/12/12
Hall finding groove after concussion
2/12/12
OSU women back in Big Ten race
2/12/12
> More sports headlines

By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 8:45 AM Thursday, September 24, 2009

OXFORD — Darrell Hallberg recalled his reaction when he learned that Miami University’s football team would play its first four games away from Yager Stadium with three round trips of 500 or more miles.

“I sort of laughed to myself,” he said.

Hallberg is Miami’s equipment director, the man responsible for — among many duties — preparing and then transporting that equipment to Cincinnati three weeks ago, to Boise, Idaho, two weeks ago, to Kalamazoo, Mich., last week and to Kent for the RedHawks’ game on Saturday, Sept. 26, against the Kent State Golden Flashes.

Four trips, more than 4,000 miles.

“It’s not a job. It’s a hobby,” Hallberg said with a grin. “You’ve got to love what you do.”

Hallberg has what might be the ultimate behind-the-scenes job.

“I always tell people, ‘You don’t know who we are, and you don’t know what we do until it’s not done,’ ” he said.

Hallberg was born and raised in Columbia, S.C., and got his early experience in handling equipment in a football program directed by Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz.

After three years at South Carolina and four and a half years at Eastern Michigan, he was hired at Miami on July 14, 2008. He and his wife, Jessica, live in Oxford.

Not that they see much of each other during football season, especially from Thursday through Sunday.

“The hardest part for us has to be the hours,” Hallberg said. “Thursday night the team has practice. After practice we start the laundry. We clean, shine and decal the helmets — they get new decals every week.

“Then we pack the players’ bags,” he said. “I mean, we pack everything. Helmets, shoulder pads, hip pads, tail pads, knee pads, ankle braces, knee braces, soft gear (clothes), mouthpieces, game cleats, backup cleats, game gloves.”

Hallberg said he and his football equipment staff of 14, including his main assistant “and my ace in the hole” Chad Burns, arrive at each stadium “on game day six hours before the kickoff. That’s my rule of thumb.”

The uniforms and equipment must be ready for the players before they arrive, and after each game “we drive straight back (to Yager Stadium) and do the laundry. You can’t let the stains set in the uniforms.”

And then there is the actual travel. And the loading. And unloading. And loading. And unloading. And so on.

“For Boise, we were fortunate enough to fly the equipment there,” he said.

But that in itself created a lot of extra manual labor.

“We have to load the truck, then we drive that truck to the Dayton (International) Airport,” Hallberg said. “Then we unload it and load it onto the plane. Then we land and unload the plane and pack it into a truck. Then we take it to the stadium and unload it there. Then you basically repeat the process coming back. All of that while I’m wearing a coat and tie, because that’s what we travel in when we fly.

“It’s a grind,” he said. “You’ve got to love it.”

Getting it there and back

Total distance traveled for Miami’s first four football games: About 4,450 miles

Total weight of Miami football equipment: 7,589 pounds

Vehicles used to transport equipment: One 28-foot box truck and two 12-person passenger vans

Persons needed to transport equipment: Equipment Director Darrell Hallberg, assistant Chad Burns, volunteer Lyman “Tootie” Wooten and 12 student assistants

Total hours spent by staff transporting equipment, including preparation, for the four road games: Approximately 2,000 hours

Share this article