Field of Dreams

Jaci Field, Director of Eddie Smith Field House and Finley Fields, Talks Life as a Facilities Worker

By Caleb Myers|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on August 19, 2022)

With the last name “Field,” is it any wonder that Jaci Field has made a career out of facilities management?

Field, who works at the University of North Carolina, has many responsibilities across several facilities on campus. She serves as the Director of the Eddie Smith Field House, where UNC's indoor track is located and manages Finley Fields, where the outdoor track is located. On top of these responsibilities, Field is also a member of the Athletic Facilities and Planning staff–a role in which she helps manage some capital projects at UNC–and serves as the Director of Sports Camps at UNC and helps plan emergency responses.

If you're considering a career in college sports, read on for Field's experiences and tips–she “fielded” some good questions for us!

What does your day-to-day look like in your role?

I like to tell people that I help people have a better time when they come to events. I do a little bit of everything. I manage the Eddie Smith Field House and Finley Fields and am the Director of Sports Camps at UNC. I oversee some capital projects, also. In these roles, I manage the relationship between the facilities and camps and the university along with scheduling the facilities for use by the department. I also coordinate housekeeping for these facilities. I am never bored!

Could you tell me a little bit more about what you do as the Director of Camps?

As the Director of Camps, I lay out and coordinate the schedules for all of the 19-21 camps that take place at Carolina. I manage the relationship between the university and athletic department and execute the agreement between the two parties for sports camps to take place. I coordinate with the business and compliance offices to ensure that all insurance and protection of minors agreements are met, along with confirming that NCAA forms have been completed. I facilitate the communication between various departments on campus for sports camps also, like housing, dining, parking, and housekeeping.

I noticed you are very involved with multiple organizations at Carolina, what are some of them?

I serve on the Diversity and Inclusion and Carolina Pride committees and am the chair of the Carolina Black Caucus. I also serve on the employee forum and the Chancellor's advisory committee, representing my department. I am a member of the Carolina Cares and Shares and LeanIn networks. Since I am an alum of UNC, I also serve on the Carolina Pride Alumni Network Board of Directors.

What are you most proud of during your time in this role?

Having been a student-athlete, I had a fantastic experience here and will always feel like Carolina is home. Being able to be a part of creating that for others is what keeps me at Carolina and allows me to enjoy my job every day. My favorite time, every year, is the first time that people come into an arena or into the gates of a facility. People come from all over the country and world, some are at every game, and some save all year to come to one game. Seeing those experiences and seeing the student-athletes excel on the court, field, track, etc. is my greatest joy.

I know the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that facility operation looks drastically, but is there anything from the pandemic that you or your department have learned that you plan to permanently implement?

I have a graduate certificate in emergency preparedness and disaster management, so I had a great deal of input in the decisions, efforts, and practices being made regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Bringing best practices of emergency management to athletics is a passion of mine. The overall awareness of others and the need for mitigation plans is necessary and something that has shined through this pandemic. Leveraging this global pandemic to create stronger efficiencies in our emergency planning is the greatest benefit for us.

What is one challenge that you or your department faces?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many tough decisions had to be made, like figuring out the best way to bring staff and student-athletes back safely. Furthermore, the way that fans were brought back into our facilities had to be carefully completed, too. The way that we did it, though, was very helpful. With my background, I was very involved in writing this set of plans and instructions, along with communicating them out to the department, such as how to keep surfaces disinfected, etc. This required a lot of extra work and digging deep to use my experience in emergency management and studying other worldwide events.

What is one thing that you think all recruits should know when considering UNC to further their athletic career, especially relating to facilities?

Most of our facilities have been updated in the last 10 years. Recruits should know that they are going to come into world-class facilities that are safe and well-thought-out. Hopefully we have created an environment where an athlete will not have to worry about the actual facility, but instead, can come in and know that they will be taken care of and are in a clean and safe place with updated surfaces to use for training. We always try to create the “wow” factor for our facilities and ensure that updates are equitable across sports, and I think we have done a pretty good job with both of these things.

Do student-athletes have round-the-clock access to the Eddie Smith Field House and Finley Fields?

Yes, student-athletes have round-the-clock access to the Eddie Smith Field House and Finley Fields. I see distance athletes working hard early in the morning and I see athletes in the Eddie Smith Field House working late into the evening.

Is student-athlete access to these facilities altered during the off-season?

No, the off-season is just as important as the regular season for base and sequential training. Since the “real work” happens in the off-season that makes an athlete stronger for the regular season, the access to our facilities is the same year-round.

When recruits visit UNC's campus, what is something that always sticks out to them as they consider furthering their athletic career at Carolina, especially relating to facilities?

Our branding and consistency of branding is something that recruits are wowed by when they enter our facilities. Our Carolina blue NC carries excellence with it. When recruits see that, they feel the good feelings that are associated with Carolina. We also want recruits to experience our people, families, and relationships when they come to UNC. The facilities are great, and everyone wants to see a clean new facility, and we have to have that, but I think the best part about Carolina is definitely the relationships.

Have an idea for a story or a question you need answered? Want to set up an interview with us? Email us at [email protected]