NCS⁴ NEWS August 21, 2025

A Look Back at the 2025 National Sports Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition

2025 Conference in Numbers

2025 Conference Highlights

Congratulations to the 2025 Award Recipients

Cornerstone Award

Champion of Change Award

Sponsored by inOrbit

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsored by Meridian Rapid Defense Group

Milton E. Ahlerich Distinguished Leadership Award

Certified Sport Security Professional (CSSP) Recognitions

The NCS⁴ is the only organization that offers a certification recognizing expertise in sport security management. The CSSP certification is awarded to individuals who meet experience, education, and professional reference criteria and pass an exam relevant to sports safety and security management. It is maintained through ongoing continuing education and industry contribution requirements every three years.

Join us next summer in Palm Desert, CA!

Routledge Handbook of Sport Security

Dr. Stacey Hall, NCS⁴ Director, serves as the Editor of the first-ever published Handbook of Sport Security (available in hardback and eBook format).

The book provides an in-depth analysis of security issues and concerns in contemporary sport. Featuring the work of 60 leading researchers and practitioners from around the world, it offers practical, evidence-based commentary and guidance over 40 chapters.

The book examines the multiple stakeholders, agencies, and organizations involved in providing a safe space for spectators, participants, staff, organizations, communities, and sponsors. It considers the coordination of private and public entities in the sports security ecosystem, including facility management, event management, law enforcement, emergency management, emergency medical services, and state/federal government partners, as well as the private sector organizations providing support services. The book also offers a comprehensive analysis of key issues and debates in contemporary sport security, including terrorism, cybersecurity, spectator violence, planning and assessment guidance for sport venues and events of all sizes, management and policy considerations for leaders and decision-makers, and the lessons learned from critical incidents. It introduces the core principles of research methods in sport security and looks ahead at future developments in this rapidly changing field.

Pre-order is available now with a release date of September 1, 2025.

GAMEDAY SECURITY Must Read: Your Credentials, Please

With new credentialing technology in place for gameday staff, media and others, the NFL has activated what one stadium official calls an 'onion of security.'

Welcome to the NCS⁴ Team!

Lauren Villarreal, former NCS⁴ Graduate Assistant, has transitioned into a full-time Training Manager role. Lauren will provide oversight for the training courses offered through the NCS⁴ and assist with the Certified Sport Security Professional (CSSP) certification program.

Kate Largen is a Graduate Assistant at the NCS⁴. As a GA, Kate will assist the center with event details and events hosted by NCS⁴.

Before joining the NCS⁴, Kate received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi. Currently, she is obtaining her master’s in counseling psychology at USM and is interested in pursuing a PhD in counseling psychology.

Olukola Olukunle is a Graduate Assistant at the NCS⁴ and will support the research development efforts of the center, including projects on emerging technologies for event venue safety and instructional design for safety training.

Before joining the NCS⁴, Olukunle earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting and his master’s degree in Financial Technology from Teesside University in the United Kingdom. He is pursuing his PhD in Human Capital Development (Instructional Design and Technology) at USM.

The NCS⁴ Hosts Train the Trainer for MGT-412 and MGT-475

The NCS⁴ recently brought 45 instructors together for a ”Train the Trainer” seminar at the Trent Lott National Center on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The purpose was to ��train up’ both seasoned and new instructors on the DHS/FEMA-funded MGT-412 and MGT-475 courses.

These courses represent a cooperative effort between The University of Southern Mississippi’s National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (USM/NCS⁴) and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (TEEX/NERRTC), a member of the Texas A&M University System.

For more information on the NCS⁴ courses such as MGT 412 and MGT 475, please click on the link below:

NCS⁴ eLearning Options

The NCS⁴ eLearning platform, NCS⁴ LEARN, provides opportunities for individuals and organizations to access asynchronous professional development opportunities. Current offerings include the following:

• Frontline Staff Foundational Skills
• Crowd Manager Fundamentals
• Venue Staff Training: Security Awareness
• Senior Leader Course: Sports and Entertainment Security

Please visit the website or contact us at NCS4Learn@usm.edu if you have any questions or would like to inquire about bulk registration.

Click one of the links above or the button below for details on registering.

Fundamentals of Crowd Safety Course

NCS⁴ and GKStill International have partnered to jointly offer the Fundamentals of Crowd Safety online eLearning course to address capability gaps in crowd behavior and sciences. Professor Dr. G. Keith Still, Visiting Professor of Crowd Science at the University of Suffolk, developed this certified, accredited course. The course offers an 8-hour online interactive experience designed to teach the essential elements of crowd safety and crowd risk analysis. The course is especially valuable to event organizers, as it ensures that those who complete it are compliant with the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code — specifically, the areas of section 12 of the code that require a venue to provide a crowd manager trained in crowd management techniques for occupancies exceeding 1,000.