The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Receives Seal of Approval, Stadium Security Training Complete
3/6/2008 | Athletics
OXFORD, Miss. With 60,000-plus spirited fans packed into Ole Miss' Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on game day, there's always the possibility of an emergency situation.
Indeed, following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified professional and collegiate stadiums and arenas as potential targets for terrorist activities. But Mississippi has become the first state in the nation to take proactive measures to ensure college sporting venues are prepared for an emergency.
At a ceremony Tuesday, Ole Miss was awarded its Sports Event Security Aware Seal of Approval from the Mississippi Homeland Security Office. The award designates that Ole Miss has met the requirements for effective security and safety management systems related to preparation, response and recovery at spectator sports events.
"The safety of both our fans and participants at our athletics events is always the most important aspect in planning those events at Ole Miss," said Athletics Director Pete Boone. "We are pleased to have been a part of this national pilot program, and receiving this Seal of Approval from the Mississippi Homeland Security Office is significant to help reinforce our efforts. However, while this recognition is certainly important, we will continue to explore avenues to better prepare us to continue providing a safe environment at our events."
Ole Miss joins at least six other higher education institutions in the state that either have completed or are nearing completion on a four-year risk management project. Training was provided to Ole Miss' incident command team, which includes athletics representatives, campus police, emergency management and medical personnel, as well as fire and hazardous material officials.
The SESA training included sports security awareness, sports security policies and procedures, emergency response with evacuation, recovery operations, natural disasters and crowd management. The training better prepares universities to handle any and all types of emergencies at stadiums and arenas, said Bryon Thompson, assistant director of the Mississippi Homeland Security Office.
"It's a lot more than being ready in case of a terrorist attack," Thompson said. "We're talking about a fire, violence in the stands, flooding from a sprinkler system any type of incident. We want officials to be prepared to be ready to handle an emergency."
Established in 2006, the Center for Spectator Sports Security Management at the University of Southern Mississippi set out to improve sporting events security at the state's college stadiums.
"No other state in the country has done this," said Lou Marciani, CSSSM director. "Mississippi took the leadership role and set the standard for all of America. "
With the center's assistance, Ole Miss officials were supplied with a customized computer simulation training tool that ensured an experience much like a real-life emergency stadium evacuation. The training tool was tailored with 3-D models of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
"It's a virtual tool that helps us determine proper evacuation routes as well as the amount of time it would take to move everyone to safety," said Allen Drewrey, Ole Miss event management coordinator.
Through a $3.5 million Homeland Security grant, plans are set to roll out the SESA risk management training nationally to all Division I, II and III universities and colleges beginning in March 2009, Marciani said.