09/18/26 04:29:00
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09/18 16:27 CDT Security measures at Ole Miss will be heightened for Lane
Kiffin's high-profile return with LSU
Security measures at Ole Miss will be heightened for Lane Kiffin's high-profile
return with LSU
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) --- Mississippi will assemble the state's largest law
enforcement presence ever for a college football game this weekend,
highlighting the heightened security in place around the stadium and off campus
for the much-anticipated game Saturday night against LSU and former Rebels
coach Lane Kiffin.
Ole Miss students were warned this week that nobody wearing an opposing team's
apparel will be allowed to enter the student section at Vaught-Hemingway
Stadium and that anyone spotted by security in opponent gear or colors during
the game will be removed.
This unusually strict protocol was enacted with tensions between the
Southeastern Conference rivals as high as ever, following Kiffin's departure
for LSU late last year at the end of the regular season, just before Ole Miss
entered the College Football Playoff. The Tigers are ranked seventh and the
Rebels are eighth in the latest Associated Press poll.
Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety,
announced earlier this week that between 65 and 70 troopers and officers from
the highway patrol and commercial transportation enforcement division would be
in Oxford to "maintain a highly visible and proactive presence through the
conclusion of the weekend." The operation also will include a helicopter and a
mobile command center to coordinate surveillance of the scene, not for a
specific threat but rather to be proactive.
Louisiana State Police have sent 15 officers to work with Mississippi law
enforcement, Tindell said, to help ensure safe and efficient transportation and
operations for LSU's traveling party.
"Our priority is making sure everyone can enjoy the game and surrounding events
safely," Tindell said. "This enhanced presence is about being prepared, staying
proactive and working together."
The operation also includes officers with the university and the city. Oxford,
which has a non-student population of about 27,000, has six horses for officers
on mounted patrol and will increase that on Saturday to at least 10, with
officers from Mobile, Alabama, coming to help, Oxford police spokesman Breck
Jones said.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, in an interview this week with ESPN, raised the
question of sending the National Guard with the traveling party to protect
Kiffin and his players.
"But I'm hoping that we can go there and play in complete Southern hospitality
and have a great, great game," Landry told ESPN.
When Ole Miss played at Tennessee in 2021, bringing Kiffin back to another one
of his previous coaching stops, play was halted for about 20 minutes after
Volunteers fans upset about a fourth-down spot of the ball in the closing
minutes of a close game pelted the field with objects. Kiffin said he was hit
by golf balls and liquor bottles.
"As an administrator, that's your worst nightmare," Ole Miss athletic director
Keith Carter said this week in an interview with CBS Sports, referencing that
game. "It gives your university an image that isn't who you are. That's a
concern for this weekend, too."
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding echoed the calls for restraint from Rebels fans.
"About Oxford, the first thing you talk about is the people there. Let's not
lose that over a game, over a person or anything else like that," Golding said
this week at his regular news conference. "There's nothing wrong with being
competitive, being in the moment, being really loud and being an unbelievable
fan. At the end of the day, don't lose what we've created."
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