Keith Toffling, Collegian

March may seem like a busy time for basketball and hockey fans, but for the Mullins Center operations crew, it’s about as hectic as it gets.

With a crew of about 30 people, switching the Mullins Center floor from hardwood to ice is a daunting task that takes almost five hours to complete.

“Sometimes it gets a little crazy. In the beginning of December, we did four changeovers in three days,” said Scott Neas, the crew’s operations manager. “One of them was in between a 12 p.m. basketball game and a 7 p.m. hockey game. We brought in all of the 60 people we have on staff and got it done in about two and half hours.”

While that sort of effort isn’t a usual occurrence, the crew puts in plenty of hours, mostly at night. Starting the 25-step process, including pulling up 250 pieces of “hoop” floor and 600 pieces of subfloor, usually begins at 10 p.m. and ends at 3 a.m., Neas said.

“Setting up and taking down the glass for the hockey games is really the most difficult, we have to lift 150 pound glass slabs into the dashers with suction cups so they can be placed in straight,” said Cam Mosgrove, a senior sports management major and two-year veteran of the operations crew.

“It’s really power in numbers, sometimes over winter break we have a tough time because kids go home and can’t work,” explained Neas. “The longest change this year took about 10 hours, simply because we only had a crew of 12 people.”

During the school year, Neas said there is rarely a shortage of help from students, many of whom enjoy the job.

“It’s rewarding knowing that we essentially create an arena for two very good Division I teams,” said Mosgrove. “It’s kind of a sense of pride, really.”

And while many of the crew members, like Mosgrove, are proud of their work, being able to see the teams in action always adds to the enjoyment.

“Lots of the kids just come watch the games and then slip down to help with the changeover