Head Coaches, Assistants Must Serve as 'Campus Security Authorities'
New head coaching agreements at universities specifically reference the Clery Act, a federal statute requiring schools to collect information on alleged crimes and make timely warnings of ones that suggest an ongoing threat.
The statute, referenced in agreements made in the past year by Colorado, Tennessee and Northern Illinois, was initially enacted because campus crimes were often going unreported, information that would be of interest to current and potential students and their families.
The Clery Act gained renewed focus, USA Today reports, during the Jerry Sandusky scandal that broke out at Penn State in 2011.
At Old Dominion, coach Bobby Wilder’s contract requires him to complete campus security authority training within six months of the deal’s completion, and it also requires him to ensure that all current football assistant coaches complete the training within six months and that any newly hired assistants complete the training within six months of their employment effective date.
Coaches and athletics directors are by law campus security authorities, whether it is in their contracts or not, although some coaches are unaware of their obligations, says Alison Kiss, executive director of the nonprofit Clery Center for Security on Campus.
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