Dr. Lou Marciani, University of Southern Mississippi
Lou Marciani is the Director of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. The Center was founded with initial funding from the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security as the country’s first academic center dedicated to spectator sports safety and security research, professional development, enhanced training and outreach.
His extensive sports management role provides him great insight into addressing the issues constituting potential and actual threats and risks to the ongoing security and safety of fans at sporting events and venues. His background includes an extensive career in sport management serving as intercollegiate athletic director at several universities and executive director of two national sports governing bodies.
He is the principal investigator in over 7.8 million dollar externally funded grants through the Office of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Education. His work at the Center focuses on the development and implementation of a sport risk management curriculum and decision support system for sport venues to include simulation modeling for stadium evacuations. The Center has a national outreach, actively working with professional sport leagues, NCAA, National Collegiate Directors of Athletics, private sector and government agencies in enhancing sport safety and security. Currently, his effort is involved in developing a national sport security laboratory at the National Center. Dr. Marciani is an active speaker on sport safety and security at international and national sport organization annual conferences. He also serves as a resource for the U.S. Office of Homeland Security on sport safety and security issues.
