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By PETE YOUNG
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 20, 2001
TAMPA -- The South Florida athletic department conducted a seminar on safety and security Wednesday night, which was arranged in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
About 250 USF athletes attended the event at the Corral, adjacent to the USF Sun Dome. Among the eight speakers were deputy athletic director Corey Johnson, representatives from USF's counseling center and police department, and two representatives from Tampa International Airport.
Topics ranged from grief counseling, interacting with international students and campus security to airport security and commercial aviation regulations.
Since the athletes frequently travel on planes with their teams, most questions pertained to travel restrictions.
"I thought it was very interesting," volleyball player Michelle Collier said. "We're traveling Friday (to Southern Mississippi), and we needed to know what we could bring and what we need to do. It made us feel safer and (realize) everything is going to be all right."
Last week, while USF administrators held staff meetings to discuss issues created by the terrorist attack, as well as by Tropical Storm Gabrielle, the seminar was proposed.
"We thought it would be in our best interests to get together and bring in people from different entities, both on campus and off, to hopefully answer questions that the kids may have and educate them, so that there is a calmness and understanding," Johnson said.
NEW SECURITY MEASURES: Florida State will return home to a plane-free stadium after playing at UNC on Saturday. The Federal Aviation Administration approved a request for restricted airspace over Doak Campbell Stadium this season until further notice, as well as at Florida A&M University.
The FAA has granted requests for schools, including Kentucky (which hosts Florida) Clemson, Michigan and Penn State, to bar flights this weekend within a mile radius of stadiums and up to an altitude of 3,000 feet.
School officials nationwide have been tightening security at stadiums.
Notre Dame, which hosts Michigan State on Saturday, was awaiting word on its request for a "no-fly zone."
GROH APOLOGIZES: Virginia coach Al Groh apologized for a comment that offended many people, including university president John Casteen.
When told several players were worried about flying this weekend, Groh said: "I'm not saying this to make light of it by any means, but I'm not planning on having Arabs in the traveling party. So therefore I think probably that the threat of our being hijacked is pretty remote."
Groh later issued a written apology: "I am sorry if my remarks were insensitive. I certainly did not mean to insinuate that millions of sensitive, God-fearing people of Arabic descent are terrorists."
HOME OF HEISMAN CLOSED: New York's Downtown Athletic Club, home of the Heisman Trophy and just around the corner from where the World Trade Center once stood, will be closed indefinitely for stability inspections.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.