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August 12, 2008 Universities get training in sports security A group of university officials brainstormed ways Monday to sneak weapons and bombs into a huge sporting event. Diaper bags, a team player's car or even a fire truck could be potential terrorist threats, they decided. "We wouldn't think about going into game day without a game plan," said Walter Cooper of the Center for Spectator Sports Security Management at the University of Southern Mississippi. Security is the same - it takes a lot of planning. Representatives from six Mississippi universities are in Hattiesburg attending a two-day course in sport event risk management. A $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is funding the training, the first of 80 sessions nationwide. Officials from Jackson State University, Alcorn University, Delta State University, William Carey University, Mississippi Valley State University and Mississippi College are attending the training, which wraps up today. "Delta State is a small university. It all boils down to resources," said Charles "Buster" Bingham, chief of police in Cleveland, where Delta State University is located. "That's a problem that we have." Part of the training Monday focused on finding those resources through local law enforcement agencies, emergency management districts and Homeland Security offices. "You have to show the need for multi-agency collaboration," said Pam Hemphill, emergency management co-ordinator at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Documenting the need can also help with funding, she said. "It's not only collaboration, it's also communication, discussing things with a clear understanding," said Moses DuPre, associate athletic director at Alcorn. He said the training was giving him and others from Alcorn some good ideas. "We're here to improve safety on campus as a whole," said William Banks, head of security operations at William Carey University. "We'll do anything we can to improve security. We'll always look for innovative ways." One of the ideas is "hardening the venues," said Lou Marciani, director of the Southern Miss program. That means tightening security surrounding large sports events through a variety of measures and watchful eyes. Southern Miss will conduct 80 workshops like this one all over the country with the goal of reaching more than 5,000 administrators connected to 1,000 colleges by 2010.
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