OXFORD, Miss. With 60,000-plus spirited fans packed into
the University of Mississippi’s 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 UM 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.”
UM 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 UM’s 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, UM 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, UM
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.