Basketball notebook: Kansas bolsters security

By J-W Staff Reports     Nov 8, 2003

One police officer will be stationed behind both the home and visiting teams’ benches for Kansas University men’s and women’s basketball games this season at Allen Fieldhouse.

The KU police department officers were on duty during Tuesday’s exhibition game against the EA Sports All-Stars.

“It’s just for security’s sake, to keep an eye on the crowd, to protect the players and coaches,” KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said.

“We are in a new age. All you have to say is, ‘Monica Seles,'” he added of the tennis player who once was stabbed at a tournament by a fan. “People understand that security in this day and age needs to be better than 10 years ago.”

The police officers stick with both coaches and escort them to their locker rooms and media sessions.

The new security measures were not requested by coaches Bill Self or Marian Washington.

“It was a group decision,” Marchiony said. “It’s certainly the way it’s been done in a lot of places and we think it makes sense here.”

  • Clinic on tap: About 600 coaches have signed up for Self’s coaching clinic, set for today at Allen Fieldhouse. The clinic is for high school and small-college coaches.
  • No more tickets: Today’s Kansas University-Nebraska football game at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium is sold out, KU officials announced Friday.

The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net (Sunflower Broadband Channel 51) and a replay will be available at 11 p.m. on Cable 6.

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