College football on Saturdays is generally accompanied by several police officers or state troopers protecting the coaches.
There is a lot of confusion among people as to why college football coaches need these policemen and women to help them out.
This is especially confusing because in the NFL you will notice the coaches are never surrounded by state troopers. Instead, they make their way across the field at the end of a game.
Some state university stadiums are state property, which means the state troopers are responsible for security at the stadiums. Coaches have state troopers at their side to protect them from rushing fans.
Protecting the Coaching Staff
You will see college football coaches with police or state troopers for protection. You’ll notice there is always a crowd nearby whenever these officers are with the coach.
As a college football coach, you have to face tons of fans cheering and asking for autographs. These situations can be quite rowdy, which is why you need protection.
College football fans have argued that coaches want to be seen as important people. After all, college coaches haven’t always been escorted into stadiums by police officers.
It can be argued, however, that college football has grown in size, making it more dangerous for people such as head coaches.
College football is one of the few sports in which it is common for players to rush the field after a victory. Therefore, coaches often have state troopers on hand when the game ends.
Some fans have even rushed the field before the game was over.
If the crowd rushes the field after the game ends, there are generally hundreds if not thousands of people there.
The coach will need some sort of security in order to keep from being mobbed by fans. State troopers and policemen will provide a safe passage to the locker room for the coach.
It would be difficult for coaches to walk the field without any security. This is especially true if the coach is older or less physically fit.
State-Owned Stadiums
There will always be some security in college football, but it won’t always be state troopers.
Due to the size of the school or the ownership of the stadium, many schools can use the local police force to act as security for their home games.
State troopers are needed at massive schools like LSU due to the sheer number of rowdy fans.
These state troopers are also responsible for securing state-owned stadiums at schools.
It is because of this that NFL teams do not have state troopers escorting them. Head coaches in the NFL often have security with them, but they will not be uniformed state troopers since NFL stadiums are not state-owned.
The state pays for the police and troopers at football games, right?
You may wonder who pays for the police and state troopers at college football games now that you know why they are there.
In college football, most schools will be responsible for paying the police and trooper bills.
A college’s security is just another expense they have to pay to keep the show running since these games are such a big money maker for the school.
It’s all about police escorts for college coaches. Find out why coaches wear headsets during games.