Staff at Saint Vincent ready for Steelers camp
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Defensive lineman Ziggy Hood and the Steelers return to St. Vincent College in Latrobe for training camp next week.
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While the Steelers have had one of the franchise's most volatile offseasons in recent memory this year, it is business as usual for the Saint Vincent College staff gearing up to play host to the 45th annual Steelers Summer Training Camp, which begins July 30.
It will be Brother Norman W. Hipps' first year as president of Saint Vincent, but he and the school's other administrators are by no means rookies when it comes to housing what is widely regarded as the most fan-friendly training camp in the NFL.
"If you look around and you see the staff here ... these guys have all been working here for the last 10 years," Hipps said at a news conference at the school Wednesday morning. "So it's become a routine for them that they know and look forward to."
There surely will be a buzz at training camp due to the expected appearance of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was conditionally suspended six games by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy in April after a Georgia college student's allegation that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her in a nightclub the month before. But Saint Vincent director of public security Steve Brown said that any changes in training camp security will be made by Steelers security instead, and not by his staff.
"My staff stays the same. We will continue to do what we've always done, and, as needed, we'll respond to any of their calls," Brown said.
Director of facility management Larry Hendrick said he does not expect any drop in attendance this year due to the events of this past spring.
"They've had offseason events before and that usually doesn't affect the fan base that comes out," Hendrick said. "They want to see the Steelers. They want to be close to them, and this is, as Sports Illustrated said, the best camp."
First Published July 22, 2010 12:00 am
