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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.
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