USM leads state in security

Southern Miss is leading the state, as well as the nation, in sports arena security by working with officials from other universities to ensure the safety of spectators and competitors in events of emergency.

The Center for Spectator Sports Security Management was created on the USM campus by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning in October of 2006. Director of the CSSSM, Lou Marciani, said the idea began long before that when faculty members began research for sports management curriculum.

After that, Marciani said, the idea grew into an entire training program, funded for the most part by the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security.

"Without them, we wouldn't be sitting here," Marciani said.

After four years of research and training, the CSSSM has awarded its seal of approval to USM, the University of Mississippi, Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University.

"I think it's a great opportunity for our university to take the lead in [sports security], not only in our state and training other universities in Mississippi, but nationally," said Richard Giannini, director of athletics, in a press release. "I think people are going to look to the program that's been instituted here on our campus as being a real leader, so it's an exciting program."

The seal of approval deems a participating university as Sports Event Security Aware, and requires that the school undergo special training which complies with standards and procedures of the National Incident Management Systems set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The staff which operates a stadium or arena during game day is trained in these techniques, followed by exercises which practice those techniques, ending finally in an audit which reviews game-day operations and an evaluation of the total process. Universities that train with the CSSSM participate in a vulnerability assessment complete with recommendations for improvement. Staffs are trained to deal with evacuation and disaster scenarios, whether the disaster is natural or man-made. For instance, if one of our sports arenas were used as a shelter during a storm evacuation, staff members on campus are prepared for such an event. In the event of a school shooting or international terrorism, staff members will already know how to react.

Marciani said that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has identified stadiums and arenas as one of 17 infrastructures being watched. He went on to specify that terrorism can be foreign or domestic, and that colleges are particularly vulnerable to any attack because of the "human capital" they draw. Students and faculty on college campuses represent the "best and brightest" of our region, Marciani said, and to lose that in some senseless act of violence or natural disaster would be tragic for our future.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently awarded a grant of $3.5 million to the CSSSM at Southern Miss to fund the training of 5,000 officials running stadiums in over 1,000 institutions nationwide. Marciani said the Center will hold 80 workshops in an effort to share this program with these universities so that they can train others in their home states.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of this program and how fortunate we are to have these people from this university," said Jay Ledbetter, director for the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security.

Marciani said he would like to see a sports security lab at Southern Miss. He said the labs would provide an international model to show "the best of physical protection equipment and training, so that people all over the world can come and look at our venues as the premier."