How the University of Montana Keeps You Safe at Football Games

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The recent Brawl of the Wild game between the University of Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats was more than just two teams battling it out on the field because there was a lot going on behind the scenes, as in every Grizzly football game.

KGVO News spoke to UM Police Chief Brad Giffin after the game on just some of the effort that goes on behind the scenes to ensure the safety of the over 27,000 fans.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Security at a Grizzly Football Game

“The University just couldn't pull these things off without all of the help that we get from our allied partners,” began Chief Giffin. “In this game in particular (UM vs MSU), we had the Missoula County DTS folks. Randy O'Connor was there helping us out. We had police officers from the MSU campus. We had our people, and we had a complete contingent from the Montana Highway Patrol. We also had the Missoula Police Department who were assisting with it, as well.”

Ignorance of the rules is no excuse, especially when it comes to taking items into the stadium, and it causes delays and hard feelings at the entrances to the stadium.

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There are Specific Rules about what you can Carry into the Stadium

“We always are the people who kind of get the brunt of the complaints for things like slow entry into the stadium,” he said. “I mean, we can talk about that probably all day long, but I think it's important to recognize that we are working on doing that we brought in some new technology this time, called Open Gate technology, the technology that actually increases your throughput rate by scanning people for prohibited items in a much quicker fashion.”

Unfortunately, Giffin said the attendants at the gates receive a lot of verbal abuse for just adhering to the rules of the stadium.

Many of the Volunteers take a lot of Verbal Abuse from Incoming Fans

“I don't imagine that it's any surprise to you that there are a number of disorderly conduct and disturbance-type activities that go on throughout the game,” he said. “Prior to the game and after the game, I've been called a lot of things in my many, many years of law enforcement, but those people at these gates they take a lot of abuse, just because people are either unaware of the bag requirements or this rule or that rule. So I just couldn't be more thankful for the group of people that we have doing their job at the entrance gates.”

The Grizzlies will face the Blue Hens of Delaware on Saturday in round two of the FCS playoffs with kickoff slated at 7:00 p.m.

Here are the rules on what you can and can't bring through the gates at a Grizzly football game.